Against The World
by InfiniteDawnx
Summary: "Forget stardust, you are Iron. And you are Iron; and you are strong." In the darkness, they come to life. Their crooked teeth, as sharp as knives. She is up against the worst fears a person can have, but all she is doing is fighting, fighting Against The World. [Luke/OC] [Cover by spicyroll on DeviantART]
1. A Fresh Start

_**[A/N] Hi! This is my first fanfiction, it includes an OC and is based on BEFORE the cabin survivors left 'Camp Carver' for the first time. Course language and violence included. Read at your own risk. Enjoy!**_

* * *

_'You can do this.. you __**know **__you can.' _I mentally reassure myself as I remove my hunting knife from my thigh holster. I start to take deep breaths, closing my eyes every time I inhale. My light brown hair flows in the late Autumn wind as I eye my first walker.

Howe's Hardware's parking lot is filled with walkers, but not much. They're just.. spreaded everywhere. I can make it, i'd only need to take out a couple to get to that fence. The fence looked poorly built from here, it wasn't that high to jump over I assume. Me being the short person, it'll be a bit of a challenge, but I can do it.

_'You got this..' _I think as I walk up to the first walker. I raise my hand slowly and thrust my knife into it's skull. Dark red blood, oozing from the wound. I pull out the knife to be splattered with the exact blood. It doesn't bother me, I just keep going.

I raise my hand across my body as I'm shielding my face, and forcefully ram it into the side of another walkers head. I yank it out as it falls to the floor, blood bubbling out of it's knife wound.

I make a disgusted face at the sight, and hiss "Ewugh, fucking gross." I keep walking, eliminating my surrounding walkers, one by one.

* * *

I make it over to the fence and realize it's taller to climb than I thought. I struggle to climb the fence, but I finally make it. Hauling one of my legs over. As I land, the ground does some damage to my ass. "Ow, fuck.." I growl as I rub the small of my back. I stand up and take a glimpse at my clothes, they're all covered in the disgusting ooze of those walkers.

"Well, that's just great." I say sarcastically as I sigh. I look up and rest my arm on the fence, taking in a deep breaths to regain myself. Suddenly, I see the door about 7 meters away from me slowly open. I push myself into the near by comic store door, hoping they didn't just see me. I look around to find a bunch of boxes in the corner, I quickly hide behind them and tighten up, so I seemed smaller.

_'Shit..' _The store doors open and in comes some guy with an AK-47. He starts to walk around the store and I shut my hazel-brown eyes, somehow thinking that it'll help me. I wasn't really great with my balance, whenever I closed my eyes I'd go _off _balance. I accidently kicked one of the boxes a little while trying to stay on balance. A few second later I open my eyes and look up to see him pointing his gun at me.  
_'Ooohh, fuck..' _I think as he lines the shot up, aiming at my head.

"Up." He forcefully pushes the word out of his mouth. I stand up, with my hands in the air as surrender. "Who are you?" he asks, still aiming at me.

"I'm Kirsten.. Listen buddy-" I lower my hands. "-I'm not here to kill anyone or anything, I came in the place looking for a place to survive." I said, acting cool and chill, just so he didn't shoot me.

He starts to lower his gun, he looks me up and down and stops his eyes at my thigh holster. "How the hell did you get into here, with only that?" I look at my thigh holster and notice the hunting knife.

"I pushed my way through, like anyone else would?" I retort. He gives me a small smile.

"I'm Luke, I ain't the owner of this place, but I'll radio him down and tell him we have a new girl." He says, unlatching the walkie talkie from his pants.

"Uh, sure. okay.." I say placing a hand on my hip.

"Bill, we got a new one, a girl, she looks pretty dirty, I'm guessing she got through them lurker's trying to get here." He says, holding the walkie talkie up to his face. I look to the side of me, awkwardly. This guy was kinda cute, he was even more cu- woah. The hell did I just say?

"Alright, get her cleaned up and some new clothes and we'll take her to the pen for the night." The voice from the radio answers Luke.

"On it." He lowers the walkie talkie and places it in his pants, where it had originally been. "Alright, follow me." He leads me out of the comic store and through the door he had came through.

* * *

"So, how old are you?" he asks me. Why would he be asking me that?

"Uh, 21. Yourself?" I answer him, ending the answer with a question.

"I'm 23. You been around here long?" he asks.

"No, I came across these parts yesterday when me and my sister-" I suddenly stopped talking. _'Stop talking! Don't tell him.. what- what happened.. okay?' _I mutter to myself in my head.

"You and your sister what?" He asks, softly.

"Nothing. It's nothing." I murmur while looking to the side.

"Oh- I didn't mean to pry, I was uh- just wonderin'." He says while looking at me with his puppy dog eyes. Speaking of his eyes, they shone in the lights of the store, they were a chocolate brown and kind of sweet looking. He had light brown hair, with the slightest streaks of dark brown. His hair went just passed his ears, not being too long. He wore an orange-brown jumper with the sleeves rolled up and light denim jeans.

I sighed "It's alright. It's just still a touchy subject with me." He nods. There was silence for a minute, so I decided to break the ice.

"Got any relatives here?" I ask with a slight smile as I looked over to him.

"Nah, but I got my best friend Nick, his uncle Pete and his mom Barbara." He says pointing to the gate as we stop, where I could see a couple of heads through the gate holes.

"Oh, that's cool." I give him a small nod and a smile, he smiles back at me. I turn my head to see a redhead with blue eyes, freckles and a bit of baggage under her eyes, approach me and Luke.

"Who's the girl? A new commer?" She asks with a smile.

"Yeah, she needs to clean up a little, and get some new clothes." He gestures his hand to me as he's talking.

The redhead starts to chuckle a little, "Ah- Okay, I can show you just the place, I'll give you some fresh clothes, too." She smiles at me.

"Oh, thanks. That's uh- very kind of you." I say. We start to walk to the area where the bathroom was. I give a small wave to Luke and say "Thanks, Luke." He gives me a nod while he smiles.

"Ain't he just a charmer?" The redhead says. I spin my head around to her, wide eyed.

"Huh? Charmer?" I say, scratching the back of my head as we're walking.

"Yeah, a charmer? You know, with his looks?" She replies, a smile spread across her face.

"Oh, uh.. I guess so." I awkwardly say. She starts to laugh a little.

"I seen the way you look at him, ain't no doubt you don't like 'im." She spins her head forward, no longer looking at me. Her smile starts to increase bigger as she begins to laugh.

"But- it's not like- I- I just met the damn guy?" I say, stuttering. It was true, he was kind of hot, but I don't _like_ him like that. I just met him.

"Haha, alright, whatever you say darlin'." She says. I kept looking to the side of me wide eyed. Is this girl off her mind? We arrived at the bathroom and she opens the door with a key. "In you go, sweet heart. Stay here, while I go get your clothes." She says, walking off.

"Alright." I murmur as she leaves the room. I remove my combat boots and thigh holster from myself and set them on the floor.

The lady walks back in with new clothes. "I don't think I caught your name?" I ask her.

"Oh, my name's Bonnie. Your's?" She replies, placing the clothes on the towel rack.

"Kirsten." I say with a smile.

"Now, that's a pretty name, Kirsten." She says, smiling. I noticed that a smile never leaves her face. She must be a happy woman after surviving 2 years into the apocalypse.

"Thanks, Bonnie." I say.

"Well, I'ma leave you to it. Make sure you wash up good, you need it." She says closing the door. I lock it as soon as she leaves, making sure no unwanted people barge in unexpecting a naked girl trying to scrub up.

I turn on the hot water, letting it run in the bath. As it's going I remove my clothes and set them in a pile on the ground. I turn off the water, having it at the height I wanted it, and stepped in. I breath a sigh of relief as I sink in.

"This place is gonna be good." I say to myself as I close my eyes, enjoying the moment.

* * *

**[A/N] Woah, holy crap. First fanfiction and, yeah.. Hope y'all liked it, next chapter will be up today. If not, tomorrow for sure! Thanks for reading. :)**

**-Inf.**


	2. Couple'a New Faces

**[A/N] No, not much OC/Luke yet (sorry) but it's a chapter worth reading! :) Enjoyyy.**

* * *

I lace up my combat boots and stand up. Looking into the mirror, I run my fingers through my hand and let out a sigh of relief.

"Hmm, no hair dryer.." I say, looking around. "Wouldn't expect it." I shrug.

I unlock the door and step outside. I see Bonnie outside, at the end of the small hallway talking to a man with a Halo cap. He's wearing some sort of dark gray t-shirt with a white shirt underneath. He's got tanned skin and icey blue eyes. I can hear him talking and he's got a pretty deep voice, too.

"Oh, hey darlin'." Bonnie says with a smile while hearing the door shut and turning towards me.

"Hey, who's this?" I ask. I look him up and down.

"This is Nick, Luke's best friend." She replies, gesturing a hand towards the guy.

"Hey." He says with a small wave.

"Hi.." I say with a smile.

Bonnie looks at the both of us, knowing that I'm unaware of what I'm doing.

"Oh, right. Nick this is Kirsten, I'ma need you to show her to the pen while I go fill in my last chore."

"Alright, follow me." He says, walking off. He looked very reluctant, not wanting to do it. It seemed a bit off.. But I started to walk after him. "So, you met Luke?"

I look diagonally up to him, he's a pretty tall guy. "Yeah, he's the one that found me."

He scoffs, "That's a first." he says while shaking his head with a grin.

"What do you mean?" I raise an eyebrow to him.

"He's never found anyone before, and we've been here damn near 2 months." He gestures a hand to the gate where the pen is. He unlatches it and slides it open.

"Oh- well. Guess I'm the first then." I say, facing him as he finishes sliding the gate open.

He walks me inside and greets everyone.

"How'ya doin', boy?" an old man, around mid 50's stands up and says, walking towards him.

"I'm good, Uncle Pete. This is Kirsten, one of the new commers. Luke found her, if you can believe it." He chuckles. I give a wave to the old man and he nods.

"Wait- Luke found her?" The old man says in awe. Nick gives him a nod. "Damn, that'll be a first. Anyway, I'm Pete. Nick's uncle and Barbara's brother." he turns to face the woman with a smile.

The old woman gives me a wave and a "Hello there, sweetie."

"Hi there." I reply, giving off a smile.

"Might as well show you the others." Pete says, walking me over to the camp fire. "Here's Alvin and Rebecca." They both look up, and the man sitting next to the woman gives me a smile. He looks like a big teddy bear, just so huggable. He's got a black-gray beard and glasses. Wearing a jacket and jeans. The woman next to him is wearing a gray, skin-tight shirt and gray jeans.

The woman gives me a smile, but this smiles seems.. off. It's a painful, hurt kind of smile. It might just be the side affects of being pregnant. Oh, did I mention she looked pregnant? I hope she was, I didn't want to seem rude.

"Hey there." The woman says, apparently her name is Rebecca.

"Hey." The man, known as Alvin says with a kind grin.

"Hello." I reply, giving them both a little wave as I look them up and down. They're both sitting on a chair, everyone was. It was a bit hard to look them down.

"Over here's Carlos and his daughter, Sarah." The daughter springs up. I widely open my eyes, I've never seen a child so.. playful? Especially in the apocalypse.

"Hi, I'm Sarah!" The girl says, swooning while looking up at me. "This is my Dad!" She grabs my hand and pulls me over a bit closer.

"Hello, nice to meet you. I'm Carlos, this is Sarah." He informs me. "Sweetie, sit back down." He says to the girl, and her expression sinks just a little, but she's still got a smile. She has short black hair, that goes down to her shoulders. Red glasses and a blue coat with black jeans.

"Nice to meet you both.." I say, stifly with an awkward smile. I'm still in awe with Sarah being so friendly.

"Sorry, she's happy when she sees new people, especially girls." He chuckles a little. Sarah, still with a smile on her face. Her father, Carlos, is wearing a plaid shirt, with very dark gray jeans. He's just a very short mullet, with a slight beard and moustache.

"It's alright. I'm just not used to seeing children so happy in times like this. Actually, children in general." I say, scratching the back of my head.

He gives me a small nod.

"Well, that's about it." Pete says. I nod to him.

"So.. where do I sleep?" My hand in the air, pointing to the bunks.

"Just choose one that doesn't have any items on it. You're going to need the rest, it's gonna be a long day tomorrow." Nick butts in. He gives me a nod and walks back out of the pen, shutting the gates.

Pete sits back down and begins to chat with his sister. Carlos is talking to Alvin and Rebecca, and Sarah is still.. uh, staring at me smiling?

"Are you alright? Do you need anything or something?" I kindly ask.

She shakes her head. "No, I just thought that.. we could maybe be friends! You look just a little older than I do, but that's okay!" She says, walking up to me shyly.

"Oh.. uh, how old do you think I am?" I say, bending a little down to her level.

"I don't know, maybe 17? 18?" She gestures her hand.

I start to laugh a little and she looks at me awkwardly. "Sarah, I'm 21." I retort.

Her eyes widen. "21?! Like, 21 years old?!" She nearly shouts, but not that loud.

I nod.

"Woah, that's like.. so cool!" She jumps off her feet. "But.. we can still be friends, right?" She looks up at me.

"Of course, I find you to be a cool girl to begin with." I smile, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Listen, Sarah. I'm really tired right now, and it looks like everyone's starting to hit the hay. We can play tomorrow, okay?" I take my hand off her shoulder, bracing for impact.

"Okay!" She turns around and skips back to her father.

I smile and walk to the bunks, eying them to see if any aren't taken. I find one, middle level at the end.

I take off my knife holster, and put it under the pillow. I rest my hands on my stomach, locking them together, and I let my guard down.

I slowly drift off to sleep.

* * *

**[A/N] k, so that's chapter two! I really hope you liked it, a review and follow is much appreciated. I will definitely be posting another chapter today. I'm in Australia, so I got no clue what time that is for you guys. But it'll be up in about an hour and a half, possibly less.**

**Thanks for the read. -Inf**


	3. More Alike Than You Thought

**[A/N] Two chapters in one daay. Hoowaah. Um, what. k. Minor OC/Luke? If you can even call it that yet. Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

I open my eyes a little, still not that bright, but I can see the sun rising from the fence. I'm resting on my side, must've moved in my sleep.

'_I guess I can sleep in a bit more.'_ I close my eyes and fall back asleep.

I suddenly feel a poking pain in my right leg. I slowly open my eyes, blinking every second. I feel the jabbing pain again. I open my eyes wide and shoot myself up. I hit my head on the bottom of bunk above me.

"Ah, shit!" I rub my head, squinting my eyes.

"Howdy." I hear a male voice. It sounded familiar. I look up to see Luke trying not to laugh.

"Ugh- Oh hey there.." I swing my legs out of the bunk, still sitting on it.

He walks back a little, assuming he's letting me stand up from the bunk, so I do so.

"Where is everyone?" I say, looking around.

He points to the gate. "Doing there jobs. I came to show you your first job." he gives me a smile.

I smile back. "Oh, cool. What is it?" I ask, raising an eyebrow.

"Follow me." He walks in front of me, and I follow closely behind. I rubs my eyes, trying to see clearly.

* * *

The door opens, and we're on the roof.

"Can you tell me now?" I ask, raising an eyebrow and smiling.

"Alright, alright." We stop. "You see the greenhouse over there?" He asks, pointing to the greenhouse. "You're going to be dealing with the plants. There's gonna be a guy in there, his name's Reggie. He'll help you with it."

"You seriously couldn't tell me that before?" I ask, playfully punching him in the arm as I smile.

"Just wanted to keep you curious." Luke says, smiling. His smile is pretty cute.. I mean, his eyes are better but- holy crap, I'm staring at him.

I awkwardly cough. "Oh, uh.. I better go to the - uh.. w-where was I going again? What's it called..?" _'Stop! You're losing focus!' _

He start to laugh. "It's called a greenhouse." He says, grinning.

"Oh, uh- right. I'll be going to that.. now.. the greenhouse. Uhm, yep." I say, walking off.

I spin my head forward and stiffly walk to the greenhouse in a fast pace. I smack myself in the head. "You idiot!" I whisper to myself.

I make it to the greenhouse and see two men inside. I open the door and one of them greet me. He's wearing a coat with a fur lining on the hood, Jeans, and he's got a moustache.

"Hello there, little lady. You must be Kirsten, well, I'm William Carver. Welcome to my community." He holds out his hand, wanting to shake mine.

"Hi, thanks for letting me join." I grasp his hand, firmly shaking it. I noticed that his voice is very gravelly, and scratchy.

"Not a problem. This is Reggie, he's going to be helping you with your job today." He gestures his hand to the guy next to him.

"Hey, I'm Reggie." He says with a slight smile. He looked very nervous. He had a light grayish-blue shirt underneath a cream colored vest. He was also wearing gray jeans. He had dark skin, and had a middle-eastern accent.

"I'm Kirsten." I reply.

Carver walks past me to the door, clutching the handle. "I'll leave you both to it." He walks out the door and leaves through the door Luke and I came through.

"Okay, so this is a simple job-" We both walk over to the work station, where about ten pots of berry plants sit on one side, sheers and a basket on the other. "-All we're doing it picking these berries, and placing them in the basket. Then, grab these sheers and cut off any dead branches." He says, placing the sheers back down.

"Sounds good." I say. He leaves the workstation and continues with his own. I start to pick the berries and look over to Reggie. He seemed even more nervous than before.

"Are you okay, Reggie?" I ask kindly.

"Huh-" He looks over to me. "-Oh, uh, yes. I'm just, making sure I don't screw up." He says nervously.

"What makes you think you're going to screw up..?" I say, walking over to him.

He looks to the left of him. "Carver."

"Carver?"

"Yeah. He's just- I _just_ got promoted to being a guard, and he gave me a pretty nerve racking speech when I was." He says, sad eyed.

I feel bad for this guy. "Hey, it's alright. I'm sure he appreciates your hard work. That's why he promoted you in the first place." I enthusiastically say to calm him down, walking back over to my station.

"Yeah, I guess.. Thanks." He says, giving off a small smile.

I give a small nod and continue to do my work.

* * *

After twenty to thirty minutes of berry picking and dead branch cutting, the door opens. A man, wearing all camo and holding an AK-47 came through the door. He had a goatee and medium brown hair.

I spin my head around and look at the door. "Oh, hi there." I greet.

"Well, _hello _there. I'm Troy. I'll be taking you to your next chore." He says, leaning against the doorway. He had a cowboy-redneck kind of accent. I'm assuming his from around those parts.

"Oh, okay then." I place down the sheers and walk over to him. He looks me up and down in an uncomfortable way. I glare at him, folding my arms. "Ahem.. we should be going?" I hiss.

"Mmright. Come along." He smirks and turns around, leaving the greenhouse.

I sigh. I give a little wave to Reggie as I leave. "Bye Reggie."

"See ya." He says, as I turn around and close the door.

I walk up to Troy and we begin to walk. "So, you from 'round here?" He asks.

I harden my voice. "Nope."

"Where ya from then?" He smirks, opening the door to leave the roof.

"Macon." Folding my arms while walking through the door.

"All the way over there? How'd ya-" He gets cut off.

_**"TROY?"**_I hear a yell from below the stairs where the door leads to.

I look at him, and his face is in utter fear.

"Ooh, someone's in trouble." I say, smirking.

"Just get down there." He hisses.

* * *

We finally make it down to the main area, where the guards are patrolling and people are working.

"Troy, finally, I'm gonna need you to go watch the boys down at the expansion. I'll take her off your hands." A woman rushes towards Troy and I, panting. She had short hair, and a small fringe spreaded across her forehead. A girl that looked about Sarah's age came running behind her. She had short brown hair that went up to her shoulders, and brown eyes that looked me up and down.

"Who's she?" She asks in a rude way. I fold my arms and stare her in the eye.

"I'm Kirsten, you?" I hiss.

She completely ignores my question, making a snotty remark. "Pfft, great. Fresh meat." She says, rolling her eyes and walking off.

"What the fuck?" I hiss, looking at the woman again.

She looks at the girl, who's still walking off and looks back up to me. "I'm sorry, she's my sister, Becca. I'm Shel, she's been changing a lot lately."

"Well, you better get her to stop actin' like a bitch. 'bout to slap her silly." Troy butts in.

"Don't fucking touch her, she's growing up in a time like this, all she needs to do is sit down and talk to someone. Not get hurt." I retort, looking at Troy straight in the eye.

He was about to say something until his walkie talkie had a voice coming out of it.

_cshh "Troy, send the new girl up. I'm gonna have a chat to her." _It sounded like Carver.

He picks up the walkie talkie and holds it to his face. "Got it, Bill." He stares at me, and I glare back. "Go on, get your ass up there." He hisses.

Still glaring, I walk off and up the stairs.

* * *

Knocking on the door, I take a breath from climbing all those stairs. The door flings open and Carver is standing right there.

"Come in, Kirsten." He says, moving one of his hands out of the way, pointing to the chair inside his office. I walk in, sitting down on the chair. I notice the speakers and microphones sitting behind his desk. I assume it was already there from the start of this.

He walks over to his desk and sits in his chair. "I saw what happened."

I lean back and fold my arms. "Uh-huh."

"You're not scared of him, are you?" He asks, I'm a bit surprised.

"Of course not." I continue. "Why should I be? If he's tempted to hurt a little girl, then there's no point in showing fear." I say, pushing the words out of my mouth.

"But, that's what you don't understand. In order to survive, you're going to need to _respect-" _I cut him off.

"Respect? You want to talk about respect? Hitting a girl half his size isn't _fucking_ respect. It's not going to make him any superior! Sure, she _was _being a bitch to me, but hell. Surviving in the apocalypse will do that to anyone. Armed with a gun or not, I'll still make sure he doesn't touch that girl." I say while standing up, gesturing my hand.

He looks up at me and smiles. "You see, we need people like you. People to _lead _the sheep out the pen. Those people in there? They're not leaders, they're followers. They were born to be followers. You, on the other hand are born to be a leader." He says, nodding his head to me.

"A leader? Really?" I retort, crossing my arms.

"Yes, darlin'. A leader. Someone to put people in there place, but you're doing it to the wrong people. If you want respect, you demand it. You show that you want respect, or you won't get it." He says, standing up placing his hands on the table. I sit back down and look at him like he's nuts.

Leaning back, still folding my arms, he walks up to me and sits on the corner of his desk. He looks me in the eyes and says, "We're more alike than you thought. We're both born to be leaders. Do you think anyone else out there would come in here and retaliate like that to me? I don't think so."

I glare at him in a hasty way, "Believe what you think-" I stand up out of my chair and walk to the door. "-But we're not alike, and we never will be." I say, peering over my shoulder before I open the door and walk out.

* * *

**[A/N] Damn, Kirsten's real personality is really starting to shine in this part. And please, forgive me for using a little bit out of the original game. It seems like something he'd say to a person like her. A review, follow and favourite is much appreciated! I promise, I'll add some OC/Luke in it for sure in the next chapter! I hope you enjoyed! -Inf.**


	4. Facade

_**[A/N] Hey! 4th chapter already? Damn. You WON'T be seeing some OC/Luke in here, and I know y'all want to. :( Excuse any spelling mistakes, haha ohh. Enjoy!**_

* * *

"K-Kirsten..?" I look up as I shut the door of Carver's office.

"Rebecca?" It's Rebecca? What is she so afraid of? The expression on her face sends daggers to my eyes, chills down my spine. "Rebecca, what's wrong?"

Rebecca grabs my hand and runs down the stairs with me, she doesn't run that fast since she's pregnant. As we're running, I try to speak to her but she won't bat an eye.

"Rebecca! Rebecca let go!" I yelp as she drags me along.

"Open the gate." She says to the guard at the pen gate. My eyes widen as the gates open, why are we going back in here..?

"Rebecca-" She cuts me off.

"In, now. We gotta talk." She says, dragging me into the pen as the guard shuts the gate. She sits me down and starts pacing.

"Rebecca, what's wrong?" I plead with her, hoping she'll answer me.

She starts to sigh as she sits down next to me. "Kirsten, Bill is a bad.. man."

"What do you-"

She leans closer to me and whispers. "This isn't Alvin's.."

"Isn't Alvin's wha- oh.." I come to realize that she's talking about the baby, I stop and look down at her stomach. "Wh-who's is it?" I murmur.

She goes to whisper again, but looks up at me instead of the floor. "It's.." she shifts her head to the side and closes her eyes. "It's Bill's."

"Bill's..? Did you want to..?"

"No! I didn't! He.. he threaten to kill Alvin if I didn't.. you know." She says, tears starting to drown her eyes.

"Oh Rebecca.." I say placing a hand on her shoulder. "Does Alvin know?" I whisper.

"I'm not sure, I think he does.." She whispers, tears rolling down her cheek.

The gate opens and Luke comes out of the main area. Rebecca looks up to him and back down as he starts to walk towards us.

"Does Luke know?" I whisper.

She gives me a small nod.

"She tellin' you?" He says, sitting next to Rebecca while placing a hand on her back to comfort her.

"Yeah. Rebecca, is this all you want to tell me?" I ask.

She shakes her head. "There's more.." she says, sniffling. "He's an evil man, if he doesn't get his way, he'll hurt people. Forcing them to do stuff.. even murder them." She says, barely making the words out.

"He ain't right in the head, okay? He's even hit children before, it's horrible." Luke adds in. "We're thinking of escaping." He says, looking up at me.

"Escaping? When?" I ask.

"Tomorrow, for sure." Rebecca demands.

After finding out what kind of man Carver is, I'll be definitely leaving as soon as possible.

"You want some company? I don't think I want to be here after knowing this.." I ask politely.

"Of course, we're not going to leave you here." Luke says, with a slight smile.

I smile back, nodding in appreciation. "Who else is leaving?" I ask, still comforting Rebecca.

"Rebecca, Alvin, Nick, Pete, Barbara, Reggie, Carlos, Sarah, you and I. I'm not sure about Bonnie, she said she'll consider it." Luke informs me.

"Sounds good, so tomorrow night?" I ask, just for confirmation.

He nods. Suddenly, a we hear a scream.

_**"AAAHHHH!"**_It sounded female, me and Luke jump up and rush toward the gate. We then hear a series of gunshots.

"Rebecca, stay here and stay safe." I add while looking over to her as I run.

She gives a small nod and wraps her arms around her stomach.

* * *

We burst through the door of a small room, filled with medication and a bed. It looked like a nurses station. There's a reanimated corpse lying on the floor. Another body is on the floor with blood gushing out of the neck and Nick kneeling over the body.

..It's Barbara. Nick's mom is on the floor, bitten.

"Mom.. mom, please no! MOM, PLEASE!" Nick cries, huddling over a woman.

"Holy... shit." Luke says, kneeling down with his hand on Nick's back.

"I.. I- I tried to save her.. I tried Luke, I really did." Nick barely spits the words out, with tears running down his face.

Carver suddenly comes in the room, barging the door open a bit more. He looks at the room capacity of corpses, and human beings.

"God dammit, I told you, Nick! I told you we can't cure this fucking thing!" Carver hisses at Nick. "Shoot her, Nick." He hastily says, folding his arms.

"Wh-what..?!" He says, spinning his head around to Carver.

"I said fucking shoot her!" He yells.

"I.. I can't- I.." Nick can barely speak.

"I'll do it." I say folding my arms at Carver. "He shouldn't have to do this. At all, It's wrong! No one should ever have to do this to their mother!" I retort, turning myself to Carver.

"No, no you fucking won't." Carver hisses at me.

"C-Carver, plea-" Nick tries to say.

"DO IT!" He shouts at Nick.

I stare Carver straight in the eyes. "You're a _fucking _monster!" I hiss.

He smirks at me. "We've had this talk, Kirsten."

"I don't care. That's what you are, a monster." I say, I can feel my adrenaline pumping through my veins.

"You keep saying that, but you know that's what you are deep down inside." He says, staring me straight in the eyes back.

"I'm not like you." I hiss.

"I know it when I see it." He says, turning his attention back to Nick.

Nick stands up and turns his head to Luke.

"L-Luke.. I can't- Fuck, fuck, FUCK! LUKE, I CAN'T!" Nick yelps, throwing his hands in a fit.

"Carver, come on. Don't make him do this.." Luke tries to plead with him.

"You guys wanted to keep that bitch who got bit in here, so you deal with the consequences. Shoot her, now." Carver glares at Nick while he's talking.

In a fit of rage, Nick opens his mouth to say something, but he stops himself. He takes a deep breath and pulls out a pistol from the holster.

Tears are starting to fill my eyes. No one should have to go through this, no one. Carver is a mental case, and we need to go as soon as possible.

_**BANG.**_

Nick shoots his dead mother. I turn my head to the side, closing my eyes shut, trying not to see what lays left of a woman.

I turn my head to Carver and stare at him. "You're fucking horrible. You think things like this get you respect? I can't wait for the day you get what's coming to you." I say, walking up to Nick, tears falling down my cheeks as I try to comfort him.

Carver unlatches the walkie talkie from his pants and holds the red button. "Troy, come down to the first aid station and clean up the bodies." He continues to talk, muffled, as he walks off.

"Nick, oh god, I am so sorry." I say, trying to let the words out.

He looks up to me, eyes full of tears. I give him a hug, all I can think of doing is telling him that it's going to be okay. But, I just couldn't.

I release from the hug, still having my hand place on his shoulder. Luke places his hand on my back and the other on Nick's.

"She was a great woman, she really was." Luke says, tears, slightly forming in his eyes.

Troy barges in. "Alright, get the fuck out of here, all of ya." He spits out.

A ball of rage built up inside of me bursts, I walk out of the room, clashing my shoulder with his, saying "Fucking asshole." as I did.

* * *

_**[A/N] Oh god, this chapter is so sad. I felt bad even writing it. We will definitely be seeing OC/Luke in the next chapter! **_

_**I'm going to be writing another on after this, yes, two chapters in the one day. :) I hope you enjoyed, a review, follow and favourite is much appreciated!**_

_**-Inf.**_


	5. Getting Closer

_**[A/N] Two chapters in one day, once again. I hope you guys are really enjoying this! Sorry if the last one didn't seem too good, I'll try harder, much, much harder with this one! **_

* * *

"Hey, darlin'. You feelin' okay?" Bonnie asks, walking up to me while placing a hand on my shoulder. I've taken a bit to calm down and gather myself up.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I retort.

"Don't look like it." She replies. Is it that obvious?

"I'm fine, alright? It's just.. Barbara. She got bit.. and Nick had to.. he-" I couldn't. I just couldn't say the rest.

"Oh sweetie, I'm so sorry. Well, it's okay. You've got your last chore with me in the armoury." She says, patting my back as we both walk towards the armoury.

"That's a relief. I can't stand being near Troy." I say, breathing a sigh of relief.

"He ain't that bad, is he?" She scoffs.

I turn my head and glare at her.

"Oh.." She quietly says. Looking off to the side.

As we approach the armoury, she unlocks the door with the key attached to string that hangs around her neck. She turns the doorknob and swings the door open.

As we walk, she begins to talk.

"Alright, all we're doing is checking the guns and loading magazines." She says, gesturing her hand to the chair beside the table full of ammo, guns and small boxes full of parts.

I take a seat and quickly demonstrates.

"There, that easy?" She asks with a grin.

"Yeah, sounds simple." I nod.

We begin to do the job and she starts to talk to me.

"So, where ya from?" She asks.

"I'm from Macon, in Georgia." I reply.

"Well, you're pretty far from home." She chuckles.

"Yeah, _really _far." I retort with a smile.

She places the magazine down, and grabs another. "You got any family?" She continues.

My eyes widen, and shift to the side. "Yeah, my dad and little sister. And an aunt." I reply.

"No mother?" She asks, softly. Looking at me with a soft expression. She notices the hurt figure across my face.

I don't want to talk about it, but I do anyway. "My mother.. wasn't there for us when we were little. She wasn't there for my sister at all. She, uh. She passed away giving birth to my little sister. She blamed herself so much for it, I tried to tell her it wasn't her fault, but she didn't listen. My dad went missing when all of this started. I was with my little sister, baby sitting her at home. My dad was at work and he never made it back. When we heard the news of TV, we hit the road. We were together ever since." I forced the words out, I couldn't bottle it up anymore. It was time to let it all go before I lost my mind.

"What happened to her..?" Bonnie asks very quietly.

I can feel the hot burning tears slowly fill my eyes. "I- I couldn't protect her.. I tried _so _hard. We had set up a small camp. It wasn't really even a camp. We just made a fire and slept on the ground. When I woke up, she was being attacked. Before I could do anything, it took a bite out of her shoulder-" A tear rolled down my face, but I knew I had to do this. "I had to kill her. I couldn't let her suffer. Then, I found this place."

Bonnie comforts me by placing a hand on my shoulder and nodding.

"So, what happened to your aunt?" she asks.

"I didn't like her. She was a selfish woman. She was married to this guy, he was a teacher up at UGA. He came home from work early one day after feeling sick. He walked in on my aunt and the Senator of Georgia, and she was cheating on him. His name was Lee, he was a great guy, too. He taught me many life lessons, and I was planning to go to University up where he worked, as well. He ended up killing the Senator in a fight, it was accidental. He was never the type to hurt anyone, I just hope that he's alright." I say, giving off a small smile.

"Anger does a lot to people. It takes over. He sounded like a great guy. She says, smiling.

"Yeah, he was. My dad and him were good friends, and my dad hated my aunt for what she did." I say, placing the 3rd magazine down.

"I wouldn't blame him." Bonnie says, placing her last magazine down.

I turned my head and didn't notice Luke at the door.

Bonnie turns around and sees him too. "Alright darlin', you're done for the day." She says, standing up.

"Thanks Bonnie." I say, smiling and walking off.

"No problem, dear." She replies.

* * *

"Bill wants to talk to you." Luke says, his face in fear.

I sigh. "Hmph, great." I retort, rolling my eyes.

"Hey, be careful in there. I don't want you getting hurt." He quietly says.

Woah, what? Is Luke worried about me?

"Oh really?" I say smirking.

"Mmhm." He says, giving me a grin. "You're quite a pretty girl, Kirst. No need to go and get that face ruined." He says, giving me a small wink.

"Slow down, cowboy. I better go back up there before I get my 'pretty face' ruined." I sarcastically say, laughing and walking off.

* * *

I open the door and walk in. Closing the door behind me, I walk to the chair and slump down in it.

"Is this another chat about 'respect', Bill?" I smirk.

"Don't give me attitude, little lady. You're lucky I haven't taught you a thing or two about respect." He says, standing up. He glares at me and I glare straight back.

Standing up, I do exactly the opposite of what he says. "And what are you gonna do, hit me?" I say, my expression tightening.

He walks over to me. "What did I say, Kirsten?" He clenches his teeth.

I clear my throat, looking him in the eye. And all that comes out of my mouth, is two, simple, words.

"Try me." The last thing I say until I'm backhanded across the face. I hold the right side of my cheek, where he struck me. "You son of a-" The door barges open. I spin my head to the side.

"Bill! What are you doing?!" Yells a female voice. It's Bonnie.

"Teachin' this bitch about respect!" He shouts.

"And that's the problem, Carver! You don't DESERVE respect! You don't DEMAND respect and you certainly won't GET respect!" I shout, my face still red from where he hit me.

"Kirsten, stop!" Bonnie yelps.

"Get this bitch out of my office." Carver shouts to Bonnie.

I murmur "Asshole." as I walk off. Bonnie follows after me, shutting the door.

* * *

"Kirsten, slow down!" Bonnie shouts from a few meters behind me. I completely ignore her and keep walking.

Carlos comes out from the left of me and stops me. "Kirsten, what happened to your face?" He asks with a worried expression.

Some guards start to crowd around.

"That asshole, Carver hit me!" I retort.

"Hey! What did I say-" Troy gets cut off by Bonnie.

"Troy, enough!" Bonnie sighs, "Carlos, can you take a look at her?" She suggests.

Carlos walks closer to me and inspects my cheek. "Just minor bruising, nothing bad."

"Alright, to the pen, chickens." Troy shouts, alerting the whole main area.

I walk up to the pen with Carlos and Bonnie.

"What did you say to him?" Carlos asks.

"He was going to talk to me about 'my behaviour' and I didn't buy it. So he hit me." I scoff.

One of the guards open the gate and we walk in. Bonnie stays behind.

"Kirsten, you need to be careful with him. He's a very dangerous man." He says worriedly.

Luke rushes over to me as I sit down on the chair.

"Please, I can handle him." I say, leaning back and folding my arms.

"What did he do to you?!" Luke yelps. Bending down to my level as I'm on the chair.

"What does it look like? He hit me across the face, Luke."

He sighs. "I told you to be careful, he's not a gentle person."

"Yeah, I figured that out." I scoff.

Sarah comes running towards me. It's nice to see a gentle face like hers.

"Oh no! What happened to you, Kirsten!?" She asks in a worried tone.

"Nothing, sweetie. I'm okay." I say, trying not to alarm her.

Alvin butts in, "You see? We gotta leave soon! He might hurt someone else!" Rebecca agrees.

"I'm not having my child be born here, or even grow up here. Not with that man walking around." She says, clutching her stomach.

Nick adds, "So we leave tonight then?" he asks.

"We have to, it's the only thing we _can _do." I say.

The gate opens and Reggie waltzes in.

"Hey guys!" He says cheerfully.

We all turn around to look at him, and our expression brings down his joy.

"Oh no.. what happened this time?" He asks, worriedly.

"We've leavin' tonight." Pete informs him.

"Like, right now?" He asks as his eyes open wide.

"Yes, right now!" Rebecca quietly shouts. The group turns to me, and I look down, opening my mouth.

"Let's go."

* * *

**_[A/N] OOOOHHH, shit's getting heated. I MIGHT be uploading another chapter today, just for the sake of it. I appreciate the reviews, keep them coming! Hope you enjoyed._**

**_-Inf._**


	6. A New Home

_**[A/N] Finally! They're getting out of this hell hole. Or is that just what is seems? Read the chapter to find out the new life they'll lead.**_

* * *

"Where are we gonna go, Dad?" Sarah asks, looking up to her father.

"I'm not sure sweetie." Carlos looks up to the group. "Where are we gonna meet up?" he asks.

Luke informs him, "We should meet out at Parker's run. It's not that far away, and if we get lost, we can look at the signs."

"What's Parker's Run?" I ask, looking confused at Luke.

Carlos answers for me, "It's a civil war sight. We can split up into two groups, and head out."

"Sounds like a plan." Rebecca asures.

"What about Bonnie?" Pete asks Luke. Luke looks over to the gate and back to the group.

"Luke.. go ask her.." I tell him. He looks at me with a worried face.

"What if she says no? Then what?" He asks, looking over to me while placing a hand on my shoulder.

"She'll want to. I really hope so." I say, looking at the ground in a worried expression.

"Okay, stay here. I'll go ask her." Luke says, walking off to the gate and opening it.

I look over to the group, "What's the plan? How are we gonna sneak out?" I say, gesturing my hand. "Guards are patrolling everywhere, we can't sneak out if-" I get cut off by the gate opening.

"Luke, what did she say?" Carlos asks.

He shuts the gate and walks over. "She said that she thinks she should stay." He says with a sigh.

"What the hell? Why does she want to stay?!" hisses Rebecca.

"She _just_ said she wanted to stay, but that she'll buy us some time." He informs everyone.

"What did she say she'll do?" Reggie asks.

Luke sits down next to me, "She said she'll distract the guards so we can escape. But we need to hurry, she ain't got much time."

"Alright, better make is quick then." Nick says, trying to hide the hurt in his face.

"Nick, it's alright. She would have wanted you to be safe." Luke says while walking over to comfort Nick.

"I know, man. I just-" He starts to sigh.

Suddenly, we hear a voice shout from in the main area. "BILL! GUARDS! THERE'S A BREACH!" It sounded a lot like Bonnie.

"That's our openin'! Come on, let's go!" Pete shouts.

Everyone starts to run towards the gate, until I stop and realize. _'Shit, my thigh holster!'_

"Guys, wait!" I shout, running towards the bunks. I lift up the pillow and grab my thigh holster. I attach it to my leg and slide the knife in. "There, ready!" I say, running to the group. Luke unlatches the door and we all run out into the main area.

* * *

"This way, come on!" Pete shouts, leading the group through the building. We burst through the door to the expansion and run to the end of the walkway.

We can hear the footsteps of the guards running through the building.

"Sarah, stay close to me!" Carlos says, clutching his daughter.

"What are we gonna do?!" Rebecca shouts.

"We kick it down." I say, gathering everyone back. I lift my leg up and thrust it through the wood. I make a hole and Luke bends it over. The board is only knee height now, we all just over it one by one, Reggie being last.

"Hyughh- Ahh!" Reggie tries to jump over the board but slips and falls, hurting his leg. We're all still running until someone notices.

"Shit, Reggie fell! We need to go get him!" Nick says. But by the time we realized, that guards, including Carver were standing next to him.

"We can't! We need to keep going!" Rebecca shouts, we all continue to run into the woods.

* * *

The sound of feet running and heavy breathing fills to air as we sprint through the forest. We stop ourselves to take a rest.

"Only a few more meters until we're there." Carlos informs the group while bending over to catch his breath.

I sit on the floor with my arms resting above my knees. I look up to Rebecca, making sure she's alright. Alvin is huddling over her trying to catch his breath.

"You okay, Rebecca?" I ask, "How's the baby?"

"Hhhuuh- It's.. hhuuhh- alright. Just need hhuuhhh- some water.. -hhuuhh." She says, panting.

I stand up and we continue to walk. "You think this place is safe?" I ask Luke.

"Should be, last time I saw it, it was spotless. Can't say it's the same now, but I don't know if there's any lurkers walkin' around." He gestures his hand.

"Lurkers, huh? That's what you call them?" I ask, grinning.

"That's what they are, aren't they?" He says, smiling. "Why, what do you call 'em?"

"Walkers."

"Walkers?" He looks at me, raising an eyebrow to his already smiling face.

"Mhm." I nod, staring into his gorgeous eyes. "Kirsten?" They're just so adorable, and his smile is to die for- "Kirsten!" _'Aaaand, snap back into reality, you moron!'_

"Oh- uh, what?" I say, fluttering my eyes and looking around, confused.

"I said, I had to confess something." Luke says, looking at the ground.

_'Oh, god. Oooohhh, god.' _

"When you were speakin' to Bonnie.. about your past, I was at the door the whole time. I heard everythin'. I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but I just wanted to know more about you.. ya'know?" He confesses to me, looking me in the eye.

I sigh, "Luke, it's okay. I'm not angry. You were gonna know sooner or later." I say smiling. I'm sorry, I can't hate that amazing face- woah, what the hell have I been saying lately? Do I like.. do I like Luke?

"Oh, good. I hoped for that answer." He says, smiling.

"Well, you got it. Heh." I say, with a little giggle. His eyes are just so, hypnotic.. "Did I ever tell you how gorgeous you are-" I cut myself off and cover my hand with my mouth. My eyes widen as I just realized what I said. _'Oh god.. no no no! Why did you say that?!'_

"How gorgeous I am? Well, no. Not really." He says looking over to me with an eyebrow raised.

"Oh well.. uhh.. now y'know! Aheh.." I awkwardly stutter on my words. "I'm gonna go talk to Sarah, 'kay bye."

I start to slowly walk, reducing my speed in order to get next to Sarah as Nick went faster to catch up to Luke.

"-Idiot!" I whisper to myself as I smack my head.

"I heard that!" whispered Sarah. I look over to her wide eyed.

"...Heard what?" I whisper, uncomfortably.

"You like Luke!" She started to whisper back, skipping around me in circles.

I cough a little before answering her. "Uh- I do not!" I say, grabbing her hand in order to stop her from skipping around in circles.

She laughs and looks at me smiling. "Yesss, you dooo!" She says in a weird way.

I sigh, "Okay, fine, you got me. But you can't tell anyone!"

"Okay, I won't. I pinky promise!" She says while holding out her pinky finger, squinting her eyes while smiling.

I hold out my pinky finger and grasp it into hers. "Pinky promise." I say as I release.

She smiles at me and skips to her father. We all approach the building at the civil war sight.

"Alright, we're here. We just need to figure out how to-" Luke cuts himself off. "Oh, shit. We gotta run!"

"What?!" I shout in a confused tone. A few seconds later, a horde of about fifty walkers coming towards the building. "Oh no.." I say as I clear my throat. We all begin to run away from the area, but they don't seem to be following us, we still keep running, just in case.

* * *

It had been about an hour since we ran from the civil war sight. Sarah was tired, Rebecca was sitting on a log with Alvin, Pete and Luke were talking and Nick came walking up to me.

"Hey, Nick." I say, sitting on the ground.

He just stands there smirking at me.. with his hands on his hips. "Luke, did I ever tell you how pretty your face is?" he says, sarcastically and girly. Placing his hands on his face, pretending to swoon.

"Nick!" I hiss.

He starts to chuckle and sits down on the ground. He wipes his eye as if he has a tear in it from laughing so hard. "Ah, so. You like Luke, huh?"

"Oh, shut up, Nick." I growl at him, slapping him on the arm.

"Ow, hey, what was that for?" He asks.

"That's for being a-" Suddenly, I get cut off by Sarah whose pointing in the north direction.

"Hey dad, what's that?" She asks, we all rush over to have a look.

"Holy shit.." I say, gasping.

A cabin. Finally, somewhere we can sleep! A place where we can be safe, with no danger around!

"Nick, Kirsten, Pete, follow me. We'll go scope out the place and see if it's lurker free." Luke suggests.

I cough a little "_cough, _walkers, _cough_". He looks over to me with a smile and I smile back. He walks forward towards the cabin with Pete. Nick turns to me and makes a kissy face at me and he starts to smirk.

I cross my arms and whisper "Ha ha, very funny, Nick." we both begin to walk.

* * *

"All clear, let's head back and get the others." Pete says, walking out through the door as we all follow behind.

Luke walks up besides me and asks, "You think Bonnie should have came?"

"Yeah, she was nice. I really wish she did." I say, looking to the side. "I'm glad for what she did.. but what about Reggie?" I ask.

"We couldn't do nothin'. By the time we realized, Carver was already there. We couldn't risk it." He says, with a saddened face.

"I hope he's alright. I really do." I say, looking up at him.

"Me too, Kirst." He says, placing his arm on my shoulder. I start to smile and he smiles back. I peer behind me to see Nick trying not to laugh.

I roll my eyes and keep walking.

We make it back to the group, "Alright. It's all clear, get your things and we'll head in." I say, with a smile to the group.

I turn around and look over to the cabin. "This place is going to be great." I say, as Sarah comes running up towards me and clutching my hand with a smile. I smile back and the group and I begin to walk to what we call, our new home.

* * *

_**[A/N] EYY, there's some OC/Luke for you. :) Next chapter will be tomorrow, I've already done 3 chapters in one day, and I really hope you guys enjoyed it! Nick being a smartass was one of the fun things I get to do when I write fan fictions. Anyway, a follow, favourite and review is much appreciated! Hope you enjoyed!**_

_**-Inf.**_


	7. Day One

_**[A/N] I'll only be posting about 1-2 chapters today, I won't be able to update until saturday.**_

_**cry cry. But this one has some OC/Luke for you! :) Enjoy!**_

* * *

"Neeuughhh" I groan while leaning on my side. I start to feel splashes of water on my face.

_'It's probably just the rain. Wait, I fell asleep in the cabin..'_

I shoot up from my warm cozy bed, being hit with the cold, daggering air as I hear a burst of laughter.

"Sarah?!" I scowl at her, her eyes widen and she stops laughing, she looks down with a saddened expression.

"S-s-sorry! I didn't mean for you to get angry!" She nervously murmurs.

I wipe the water from my face and sigh. "Sarah, I'm not angry. I just still have my guard up." I say, swinging my legs to the side of the bed.

"Wait, where did you get water from?" I ask, confused.

"Pete and Nick went looking for supplies and found a stream. They said it could have been connected to the water pipes in the cabin, and it was!" She says, standing on her tippy toes with her hands brought up to the arch of her neck.

"Damn.. that's awesome!" I say in a childish manner.

"Breakfast!" We hear a shout from downstairs. Me and Sarah look at each other, wide eyed.

"Race ya there!" She yelps as she runs downstairs.

I immediately jump up onto my feet and race down the stairs. "Oh hell no, Sarah!" I shout as Sarah jumps over the last step.

"Sarah, stop running, honey." Carlos calmly says as me and Sarah arrive to the kitchen.

"Aw, okay dad. I'm sorry." She says, twisting her foot on the ground like a little girl.

Sarah and I both walk up to the kitchen table and see everyone having a bowl of oatmeal. Sarah sits next to her father and Pete while the only spot left, is next to Luke and Nick.

_'Ah, just my luck.' _I think awkwardly grinning as I sit in between the two.

Nick looks over to me and starts to laugh a little. I send a daggering glare to him and kick his leg under the table.

He mouths out the word "Ow!" as I grin in victory.

Little chatter begins with everyone at the table, and all but Sarah contributes.

"Do you think Carver will find us..?" I say worriedly.

"I hope not, it's amazin' here and safe." Pete replies.

"That man better not! I'm not having my child raised near that monster!" Rebecca hisses.

"Relax, Beccy." Alvin retorts, calling her nickname.

"Listen, if he does, we'll leave and head back up north. I hear the winter there's going to slow the lurkers down." Luke adds in.

"Where abouts do you think we'll go?" Carlos asks, clutching his daughter.

"Wellington looks like our best shot." Nick adds.

"Alright, so when things get hairy, we'll head up north. Sounds good?" Luke alerts the group, with a hand gesture.

We all nod in agreement and the group members start their own little conversation amongst themselves. Luke looks over to me, placing his spoon down.

"How'd ya sleep?" He asks, raising an eyebrow.

"Alright, I guess. You?" I reply after gulping down a spoonful of oatmeal.

"I slept great. Sharing a room with Nick ain't that fun, considering he snores like a goddamn bear but I slept through it." Luke laughs as he points to Nick.

"Hey, fuck you, man." Nick hisses. Luke holds his hand up in surrender, making me giggle like an idiot.

I finish my bowl of oatmeal and get up from my seat. Holding the bowl, I waddle over to the sink and place it in there. The whole time I can feel Luke's eyes just watching me. I wasn't bothered by it, and walked straight out of the room and upstairs into the bathroom.

* * *

I shut the door and lock it. I walk over to the sink and place my hands on the side of it, looking up into the mirror. I turn the knob to the tap on and splash cold water on my face to wake me up a little. I turn off the tab and kneel down to the cabinet. I open the doors to it and scope around for a hair brush.

"Oh my god, _thank you._" I whisper in relief when I grasp the hair brush. Standing up, I close the cabinet doors and run my fingers through my hair, cringing every time I went through a knot. I release my hands from my hair and start brushing it.

* * *

A few minutes later, I remove the hair tie from my wrist and tie my hair up in a low side ponytail. Letting it just droop over my shoulder towards my stomach. I couldn't believe how fast my hair grew even though I wasn't getting enough food in me, or vitamins and all that. I pulled out my side fringe and a little bit on the opposite side.

"Ah, great." I say smiling in the mirror, giving myself a little wink. I unlock the door, and walk out of the bathroom. I go back into my room to check the wardrobe and desk, just in case there was anything in them. As I walk in I leave the door open and sit down on the floor, then I start going through the drawers.

"So, why do you like Luke?" I hear a familiar voice as I swing my head around sending daggers to the person leaning against the door frame.

"...Nick" I hiss. Yeah, it's Nick.

"What? I'm just asking. Why do you like him?" He says, giving a small shrug as he scratches the back of his head.

I sigh, looking down. "Nick, I'm not gonna lie to you. I _really _don't know, okay? I don't want to because I know what happens to people when you love them. You lose them. And I don't want to lose Luke. I don't want to lose anyone for that matter.. I just-" I sigh again, looking up at Nick. "-Losing another person _might _just do me in." I hesitantly say, standing up.

"Kirsten, loving people won't get them killed. They're going to die sooner or later. Your love won't change that." Nick comforts me while he walks in.

"But it'll hurt so bad when they're gone." I whisper. He looks over to me and sighs.

"At least you'll have your memories." Nick pauses. "Luke's a great guy, anyway. I can even tell he's taking a liking to ya. He keeps staring at you, and talking about you. The last one's pretty annoying, but doesn't that tell you somethin'?" He encourages.

I give a small nod and look to the side, trying to hide my blushing face. "I never knew he thought of me like that."

"Well, he does. So get your ass up and talk to him." He says, smirking.

I raise an eyebrow at him while looking up. He leaves the room, as he does, he gets side swiped by Sarah who comes running into my room.

"Sarah? What's wrong?" I ask, in a concerned tone while raising from my bed.

"Come with me!" She says, grasping my hand dragging me into her room.

* * *

"Sarah, let go!" I say taking my hand out of her grasp as we enter her room. She bends down and goes under her bed. "Sarah..?" I say concernly.

I can hear her squirming around under there until she finally comes out. "Look what I found!" She says, jumping to her feet.

She waves one of those really thick cell phones in front of my eyes. It looks like a big black brick filling up my eye vision.

"Sarah, what are you going to do with it?" I ask politely.

She brings the phone down to herself. "I just thought that I could pretend?" She looks down to the floor.

"What do you mean 'pretend', Sarah?" I ask, kneeling down to her height.

"Pretend to talk.. to my mom." I can see her eyes filling very slowly with tears.

I place my hand on her shoulder to comfort her. "Oh Sarah, I didn't mean to.."

"It's okay, I can handle it." She says, wiping her eyes.

"Okay, you play with the phone while I go downstairs for a bit, okay?" I say, standing back up and walking out.

* * *

I jog down the stairs and into the kitchen. I see Luke, Nick and Pete sitting down at the table, chatting.

_'You're only here for a glass of water, don't make a damn fool of yourself.' _I think, reassuring myself not to screw up.

I grab a glass from the cupboard and place it under the tap, I turn the knob and the water fills my cup. I see Nick and Pete walk outside from the corner of my eye, but Luke's still sitting down.

_'Ah, shit.'_ I think to myself as I turn off the tap and start to drink the water. Luke gets up from his seat and walks into the kitchen area, leaning against the counter.

"So.." he says, awkwardly as I swallow the last mouthful of water and place my cup in the sink.

"Uh, do you need anything?" I ask, trying to hide the nervous wreck of a girl when I speak.

"Well, I don't _need _something, I _want _something.. someone more like it." He says, walking over to me.

_'Don't do it.. don't do it, Kirsten.' _"Oh, who's the lucky guy?" I say, giggling. He raises an eyebrow at me and smiles.

"Girl, and she's in the room right now." He says, cornering me against the corner of the kitchen counters. I bite my bottom lip and stare into his eyes. _Oh god, his eyes. _

And then, the killjoy. The door swings wide open, me and Luke jump away from each other as Rebecca comes barging into the kitchen.

She grabs a glass from the cupboard and puts it under the tap. I stare a Luke for a bit until she finishes drinking her glass of water.

"Are you okay, Rebecca?" I ask, awkwardly looking at her.

"I'm fine, just a little parched. This baby's got me going crazy." She chuckles, me and Luke laugh a little along with her as she walks out of the room.

We stop laughing.

I look at him while he looks at me.

"I'm gonna.. go talk to, uh, the group. Our people- I mean.. bye!" I say, quickening my walk as I barge out of the kitchen.

* * *

"Rebecca..?" I whisper, knocking on her door. She's sitting down at one of the desks, with a piece of paper and pencil on it.

"Oh, hey Kirsten. What do you need?" She asks with a smile.

"We need to have a talk. A, uh- 'lady talk' about 'guys'." I say with an awkward expression on my face.

Her eyes widen. "Oh.. I see. Here, come take a seat with me." She says, walking over to the bed.

I follow her to the bed and sit on it with her.

"What's going on, honey?" She asks, awkwardly smiling.

"Uh, I think I- umm.."

"Spit it out, Kirsten." She slightly hisses.

"I think I like Luke.." I spit out, squinting my eyes, bracing for impact.

"You think, or you do?" She asks, raising an eyebrow.

"I do.." I whisper.

She nods, "Who else knows?"

"Nick knows-"

"Ooh.." she hisses.

"Sarah knows, too." I say, looking straight at her.

"Sarah?" She asks, confused.

"She heard me being a nervous wreck to him, and she figured it out." I say, shrugging.

She chuckles a little. "Does Luke know?"

"I'm not sure, but he was acting so.. affectionate towards me in the kitchen. He cornered me between the counters and I'm guessing he wanted to kiss me." I say, awkwardly smiling with my red cheeks.

"Kiss you? He must really like you." She spits out, in awe.

"And I think he knows too. If Nick knows, I'm sure he knows by now." I reassuringly say.

As the sun sets, Rebecca and I talk for hours until it's time for dinner.

We both go down stairs and I sit right next to Luke and Nick, again.

_'My luck.'_ I think as I begin to eat.

* * *

_**[A/N] OOOOOHHH, shit's getting heated. ;) I hope you enjoyed this chapter! A review, follow and favourite is much appreciated!**_


	8. Who are you?

_**[A/N] Finally! I'm back. Sorry for the absence, I had socializing to do. *cough* no *cough*. I haven't had any sleep for 24 hours so bare with me here. If it sucks, I'm sorry. If it doesn't, what a goddamn fluke.**_

* * *

As I'm walking up the stairs, I feel a tap on my shoulder.

"Kirsten?" A familiar voice asks, echoing off the oak wood walls of the pine scented cabin.

I spin my head around to see that it's Nick. Ah, Nick. Let's hear what shit he has to say about Luke and I.

Sighing, I reply to the voice. "Yes, Nick?"

"Can we.. 'talk' for a moment?" He asks as his voice slightly trembles.

"Uh, sure. Come with me." I reply, pulling him upstairs as our feet slightly bang on the wooden stairs.

We make it up to the top and I walk straight into my room and plump down on the bed. Nick walks in, just standing up and folding his arms.

"What'd ya need to talk about?" I curiously ask, looking up at him.

He places one of his hands on his hip and rubs his face with the other, sighing. "Kirsten.. have you ever 'lost' someone?" He asks, nervously shaking just a little.

The memories just flood back into my head of that dreadful day, the loss of Claire still haunts my mind.

I look down to the floor, giving a sigh of hurt. "Yes, Nick. Why do you ask?" I ask, the pain in my voice is no longer being able to be hidden.

He walks over to me and sits on the bed. Ruffling up the floral bed sheets just a little. "Mom.. My mom, is the reason why I'm asking. I don't, _know_ how to cope... with-" Nick looks down, tears slowly start to form at the corner of his eyes. "-with her being gone.." He spits out as he rests his head on his hand, supported by his knee.

I place my hand on his back, giving it a small rub of comfort. "Nick, I'm no expert at this stuff. But I know that everyone has dealt with loss because of this damn thing. Others' cope differently. Like me, I just try to ignore it. It hurts, I know, but it's the only way we're going to make it through day by day. We can't dwell on the past, Nick." I hesitantly say, hoping not to tear up.

"How? How can I forget that she was even in my life?" He cries, burying his head into his hands.

I look up at him, while I remove his hands from his face. "Hey.. like you said, Nick. _At least you have your memories._" I express, recalling back to our past conversation.

Nick wipes his eyes with his wrist, giving a little sniffle before replying. "You're right, I do have my memories." He says, standing up. "Thank you, Kirsten. I mean it."

I give a little nod, along with a smile as he walks out the room. I cup my hands in my lap and look down into it for a bit.

**_Knock Knock._**I hear, as I look up to see Luke leaning against the door frame.

I wipe my cheek a little before greeting him. "Hey, do you need anythi- No, wait.." I cut myself off remembering what his answer would be.

He gives a little grin as he walks over to me and sits on the bed. "Hey, I just wanted to say I'm sorry." He spits out, looking over to me while squinting his eyes.

"Uh, sorry for what?" I chuckle as I speak in a lower tone than usual. My facial expression is at an awkward state right now, considering that I'm confused and I have this _hot _guy in my room, on my bed, right now.

He runs his fingers through his chocolate brown hair and sighs. The sunlight, hitting his face as the sun sets. "Sorry for, uh, coming onto you like that.. I shouldn't of done that." He says as his expression runs into a deep sadness.

I look out the window to watch the sun go down a little more until I turn back to him. "Luke, It's okay-"

"No, you don't have to forgive me." Luke cuts me off.

"Luke.." I look down and grasp his hands which is now resting on my lap. "Luke, it's _okay_. I get it, you like me. It's a first, but anyways. There's only one reason why you and I aren't together. It's why, I don't do anything when I see you." I spit out, looking up at him. His puppy dog eyes, hitting me like knives. "Once you lose someone you love, it's hard. Very, _very_, hard. I know, we're all going to lose people we love at any given time during this thing, but I don't want to lose _you._" I say, expressing my thoughts.

"Kirst, I ain't gonna go, okay? If I can make it two years through this now, I can make it another two, and another two, and another two. Don't mean we can't try if you did want this. I came to say sorry because I felt like I pressured you into something you didn't want. So be truthful with me, Kirst. Do you want there to be an 'us'?" Luke asks, pulling his leg up and onto the bed. Forming it in a V shape.

I let go of his hands, slowly standing up from the bed and folding my arms. "Luke.. I-" Cutting myself off, I come to think for a second.  
_'Come on, Kirsty. You know you want this! Just because he means a lot to you, doesn't mean you'll lose them. Give this a damn go.' _

"Alright. I get it, you don't want us to be together." Luke spits out from nowhere, standing up from the bed.

As he starts to walk past me I tug on his wrist. "Luke, wait.." I whisper. I pull him closer, and as I do everything around me goes silent and slow. I stand on my toes and connect my lips with his. He grabs me by the waist and I slowly lean off my toes, still kissing him. It made me feel alive inside. I knew, that at this moment, Luke is the guy I _want _to spend my days with. All the days I have left in me, all the fight I can dish out for as many months. I want to be with Luke. I want their to be an 'us'.

I pull away from the kiss and stare straight into his eyes. His words occur in my mind again, _'Do you want there to be an 'us'?'_.  
"Yeah, I really do." I say, smiling as I lean my head against his chest.

* * *

As I walk into the kitchen, I see Nick and Pete talking at the table.

"Where's Luke?" Pete asks.

"Dunno, I'll go find him." Nick says, rising from his seat and walking out of the room.

I open the pantry and look for a small snack.

"Hey, Kirst?" Pete says, tapping his hand on the table.

"Yeah, Pete?" I reply, spinning my head towards his direction for a brief moment.

"Luke and I are goin' on a run tomorrow, I need you and Nick to go down to the fish traps. He knows what to do, he'll explain it all." He states, standing up from the chair he was sitting in and walking over to the kitchen, leaning over the counter.

"Oh, sure. Sounds fun. Does Nick know?" I ask, pulling out jar of stale gummy worms. _'Ew, no thanks.' _I think, making a disgusted expression on my face.

"Yeah, he's gone to get Luke for me and we're gonna talk about it." He informs me.

"Cool. Sounds good." I say, as I close the pantry and walk over to the counter.

Pete gives me a small nod and a smile as Nick and Luke come through the kitchen door.

I smile at Luke as I walk out of the kitchen, hearing muffled talk as I do.

* * *

"You ready?" Nick asks as he opens the door.

I tighten my knife holster as I walk out the door. "Yeah, ready. Let's go."

Nick shuts the door behind me and we start to walk toward the stream. I can feel Nick's smirk on me even though I'm not even looking at him.

"Ugh, what?" I ask in a slightly pissy tone.

"You."

"Me?" My face turns to a confused daze.

"And Luke." Nick says, trying not to laugh. Ah, there's the schtick. "...Sittin' in a _treeeeee_- Ow!"

I cut Nick off by punching him in the arm. "Nick, what the fuck?" I scowl at him.

"What? Not my fault the walls are paper thin." He says, smirking at he raises an eyebrow.

I cross my arms as a shot of realization goes straight into me. "Shit.. do you think anyone else heard?" I ask, in a panic.

"Pfft, no. Rebecca was having a tick at Alvin, Pete and Carlos were outside, Sarah was taking a nap on the couch, and I was right next door, unfortunately." He jerks his rifle toward me as he tells me where _he_ was at the time of mine and Luke's alone time.

I laugh a little as I cover my mouth. "Oh, that's really sad to hear, Nick. At least Luke can get someone." I say in a joking manner.

"Hey! I can get girls.. sometimes. It's always Luke who gets rejected. It's quite funny to be honest." He chuckles a little.

"Woah, wait- _Luke _always got rejected?!" I ask, surprised and in awe.

He nods "I remember there was this one girl, she was a news reporter. Bit older than Luke, her name was Carrie or Carley I think? Anyway, he tried to get with her, but she rejected him on a daily basis." He says as we arrive to the stream

I burst out into a small laughter.

"Alright, we're here. Now here's what you're gonna do..."

* * *

As we make our way back to the cabin, we can see the sky getting more gray by the hour. Looks like it's gonna rain soon.

We walk into the house and see Rebecca and Carlos at the table. Alvin was having a nap on the couch and Sarah was reading her book.

"Luke and Pete not back yet, Carlos?" Nick asks.

I unbuckle my knife holster and hold onto it.

"No, not yet. They should be back soon." He tells Nick and Alvin comes into the room from enjoying his nap.

He stretches out his arms and gives a big yawn.

"There's my man!" Rebecca blissfully yelps as she walks up to Alvin and hugs him.

I walk to the kitchen door and say "Hey, I'm gonna take a nap. Okay?" as I walk out.

I set my knife holster to the side of my on the floor as I lunge back onto the couch. I kick off my shoes and try to fall asleep.

* * *

As I yawn from waking up, I look over to the clock on the cabin wall and see that it's only been an hour and a half since I fell asleep.

I go to sit myself up when _**'BANG!',**_I hear a loud gun shot from outside. I see Luke sprint through the lounge room from the stairs to the front door.

I hear a muffled "Woah, woah, what the fuck?!" from Luke, and other talking.

I quickly attach my thigh holster and slip on my combat boots, I race to the front door and open it. The group is crowded around a figure on the floor.

I rush over to see a... a little girl? Luke rushes over to her and I follow him.

"Clementine, are you okay?" He asks in concern.

This little girl that magically appeared in front of my eyes is holding her arm with a bite on it. She's wearing a spiceberry colored t-shirt with a light purple shirt underneath. Gray jeans, and a baseball cap. She has greenish-amber eyes and dark brown, curly, short hair tied in pigtails.

"I'm not... I'm not working for anyone... I don't know what you're talking about. I just need help." She cries out, holding her arm in pain.

I hear the cabin door open to see Carlos emerge from it.

"We got a doctor right here, okay. He'll have a look." Luke says to the little girl. Turning his attention to the group, he hisses at them. "Now what the hell is wrong with you people?! Okay, she's just scared."

I tap Luke on the shoulder and whisper to him, "Who is she?".

Luke turns to me and says back, "Found her in the woods being attacked by lurkers, Pete and I saved her and she said she was bitten by a dog."

"A dog?!" I whisper back, confused. Luke nods.

Rebecca turns Luke around and scowls at him, "We're all scared, Luke. Don't act like we're the ones being irrational 'cause we don't buy this bullshit story."

The attention forwards to Nick when he says, "No way she's survived out here on her own! Why are we even arguing about this?!" hissing as Luke.

I step in, "Guys, come on. She's a little girl for fucks sake! We can't always assume that walkers are the only things out there that can bite!" I say, hissing at the group.

Carlos swerves in, walking forward to the girl. "Let me take a look." He states.

The little girl slowly backs in a couple steps when Carlos steps near her.

"Hey, it's okay." I softly say.

Carlos gestures his hand, waiting for the little girl to put her arm into it.

"It's okay. Go ahead, he's a doctor." Luke comforts her.

She looks down at her arm and sighs, pulling up her sleeve.

"Damn, that must've hurt.." Alvin adds.

The little girl holds out her arm for Carlos to examine it. Carlos kneels down to her side and takes ahold of her arm.

I walk up closer to Luke with a sad expression on my face for the little girl. He places his arm around my shoulders and hugs me tight.

"It's alright, Kirst." He softly whispers.

I watch Carlos examine her arm for the next thirty seconds, watching the girl cringe in pain every time it hurts her. Carlos finally makes a statement, "Hmm, whatever it was, it got you good."

Nick storms up to Luke and I pull away from him.

"This isn't how we do things, man! When you're bit, you get _put down. _End of story. I'm not going through this again!" He yells at Luke.

"Nick, calm down.." I try to add in.

"No one's suggestin' that." Luke replies, holding his hands up in a 'surrender' position.

Then Pete adds in a shocking statement, "We could take her arm off."

The little girl gasps in fear as the whole group turns to face Pete.

"I know that worked for a cousin down in Ainsworth, we could try that." Pete adds again.

The little girl looks around at the group.

Rebecca decides to add in her own argument. "It won't do any good. You'll just be makin' it worst for the girl."

"It's crazy, no one's gonna volunteer to do that!" Alvin steps in.

Pete turns to look at the girl, "I would, if it means saving her life."

The little girl turns to me. "You don't want to do something you're gonna regret. Better to be sure, right?" She says, looking me straight in the eyes.

"I know, sweetie. We're gonna do what's best for you, okay?" I say, trying to comfort the girl.

"Best for her?! We should be doing things that are best for our group!" Rebecca hisses at me, throwing her fists in a fit of rage.

"If we do what's best for her, I'm pretty sure she could benefit for our group. If she can survive two years in the apocalypse, I'm pretty sure she's not just 'excess baggage', Rebecca." I argue back.

"Kirsten, she could be working for Carver!" Nick joins in.

I turn my attention to Nick. "I don't think Carver's going to send a hurt little girl to our doorstep, Nick. Luke said that he found her in the woods, what are the odds there?"

The front door of the cabin opens a little, we all hear the creek and look towards it.

"Who's she?" Sarah asks, peeking her head through the door.

"Sarah?" Carlos stands up and turns around to the door. "What did I say? Stay inside."

Sarah's face darkens with sadness as she shuts the door.

The little girl turns back to Carlos who continues to examine her arm. "I don't mean to be any trouble. I just want to stop the bleeding and then I'll go. You'll never again, I promise."

Luke's face turns to utter terror, he's obviously grown a liking to this little girl.

"And where exactly would you go?" Carlos asks, looking up at the girl.

"To find my friend, Christa." She replies.

"Forget it. You won't get five-feet." Nick butts in.

I give Nick a glare while I fold my arms as he turns to me. He turns to the other side and scratches his head.

"Look, I dunno what the hell took a bite out of her, but still... she's just a kid. Worst case she turns and we can deal with it." Pete breaks the silence.

Carlos emerges from the little girls height after examining her arm and walks back to us.

"So, what's ya think?" Alvin asks.

"Was it a lurker?" Nick asks, curiously.

I shut my eyes close and wait for an answer from Carlos..

* * *

_**[A/N] Ooh, quite the long chapter. FINALLY, OC/LUKE HAPPENED. Aaand, I need a shipping name. Lukirst? ew what.**_

_**Lursten? Lursten. It's Lursten. Thanks so much for the reviews, guys! We got over 15 reviews for all 7 chapters, hell yeah.**_

_**A Review, favourite and follow is much appreciated! Hope you enjoyed!**_

_**-Inf.**_


	9. Hold on, Clementine

_**[A/N] I see that you guys really enjoyed Clementine's appearance. I've gotten some questions regarding her and Kirsten's interactions, but you're just gonna have to keep reading! I plan on adding 2-3 chapters today, so you guys are in luck! Hope you enjoy!**_

* * *

"A bite like that... could be anything. Only one way to find out." Carlos says, folding his arms across his chest. I can feel my curiosity spit out of me, just like the rain is starting to spit on top of us.

"How?" Pete asks. His face at a concerned level.

"We wait." Carlos replies.

Rebecca's eyes widen as she hears the response. "What?!" She hisses.

"By tomorrow morning, if the fever's set in, we'll know if she's gonna turn. In the mean time, we can lock her in the shed." He alerts the group.

The little girl, gasps in fear, holding her arm and stepping back a little.

"In the shed? Are you fucking crazy, Carlos?! She'll die in there!" I spit out at him, concerned for the little girl.

There's a moment of silence for a few seconds, and the little girl begins to speak.

"What about my arm...? It needs to get cleaned, and stitched, and bandaged..." She asks, walking over closer to the group.

"The girl is in bad shape, Carlos." Luke reassures him, with his puppy dog eyes.

Alvin unexpectedly chimes in. "We have all that stuff inside the cabin, we could probably get by with-"

"Alvin, please!" Rebecca scowls at him, crossing her arms with rests softly on top of her baby bump.

"...But yeah, we can't do nothing." Alvin continues.

Carlos unfolds his arms and looks over to the girl. "I'm not wasting supplies on a lurker bite. If it turns out you're telling the truth, I'll clean it and stitch it up for you in the morning."

The little girl steps forward a little as Carlos walks back inside the cabin.

"But.." she tries to persuade him, but he's just not buying it.

She winces at the pain of her arm as she looks down to the floor.

"I'm sorry, it's the best we're gonna get." Luke says, comforting the girl.

I walk a little forward to Luke and try to plead with him. "Luke, come on, she won't survive in there, even _if _she's telling the truth."

Luke sighs, rubbing his face. He didn't want to answer.

Nick walks up to Pete, who took his rifle off him. I'm guessing he was the gun shot.

"Finger off the trigger, son." Pete assures him, handing Nick his rifle.

Nick snatches it out Pete's hand, and hisses "I ain't your son!"

I fold my arms and look at Nick. "Nick.."

"Don't be like that, man." Luke says, walking over to him.

"It's alright. Boy's got his mom's temper." Pete replies to Luke.

Ow, that was pretty harsh, Pete. I winced at the words that came out of his mouth.

Nick turns over to the girl, motioning his rifle to follow him. "Come on." He says in a pissy tone.

The little girl follows him, along with Luke and I. And then we hear Rebecca..

"This is a waste of time, you'll see. And when she turns, I ain't gonna be the one cleanin' up the shed." She hisses while we keep walking.

The little girl looks over to Luke and I, she gives us a piece of her mind.

"It was a dog, you'll see." She mutters at us, looking straight forward.

"I don't know what to tell you except hold out the best you can. We'll see what we can do in the mornin'." Luke assures her, trying to keep her calm.

"Hey, what's your name?" I ask in a friendly tone. Hoping not to scare her.

She looks straight up at me with her amber eyes. "I'm Clementine." She says, with her face in pain from the bite.

"Just hold on." I say to the girl. "Hold on, Clementine."

* * *

As the four of us pull up to the shed, Luke unlocks the door and swings them open. Clementine looks up at him, and he looks back down at her. I look to the little girl then up to Luke. We exchange looks for a bit until Nick motions his rifle to the shed, waiting for the little girl to get in.

She silently sighs before walking into the shed. Luke closes the door and I can't help but feel horrible for the girl.

I lean against the shed doors, and speak to her for a moment.

"Hold on in there, Clementine. We'll get you patched up n the morning. It's safe in there." I assure her, hoping that she'll be okay.

I stop leaning against the doors and look to the ground. Luke pulls on my arm and we begin to walk alongside Nick.

"Why are we doing this? It's fucking dumb." Nick hisses at the both of us.

"Because it's safer this way, and I'd rather be sure." Luke replies to him.

Nick Retorts. "Yeah, but safer for who?"

I look over to Nick and glare at him. "What, are you willing to leave her in the woods to fend for herself with a bitten arm, that could _actually _be a dog, when we can patch her up and send her on her way with some supplies? I don't know about you, but I'm not willing to do that. There's not a lot of alive people these days, Nick. I'm not gonna let one die, especially a little girl, because we were heartless." I spit out at him, folding my arms.

"Whatever." He mutters as we walk.

* * *

Luke opens the cabin door, and we all walk inside. Carlos was in the kitchen with Pete. Rebecca was in her room with Alvin, I could hear them having at each other. Nick put his rifle on the table and went into the lounge room, while Luke and I walked upstairs, into my room.

I sat on my bed with a sad expression while Luke shut the door. I can hear the rain hit the tin roof, it didn't bother me. It was actually quite soothing.

"Luke, she could die in there.. We should have at least stopped the bleeding." I say, trying to plead.

"I know, Kirst. I know. I didn't want to do that, I really didn't." He says in a concerned tone, walking over to me and sitting on the bed, next to me. He wraps his arm around my shoulder, and I rest my head on his.

"I hope she'll be alright in there." I softly say.

"She's a tough one, I'm sure she can hold out." He replies, softly landing a kiss on my lips as I look up at him. We keep kissing for about a minute or so until we're interrupted with a knock on the door.

"Kirsten, house meeting in five minutes." We hear Carlos alert us.

"Okay, thanks." I reply.

"Is Luke in there with you?" He asks.

"Yeah, we're just... talking." I say in completely normal tone, looking up at Luke with a confused face.

"Alright." He says, as he walks off. We can hear his feet hit the wooden floor boards, hearing it less and less every time.

Luke stands up from the bed holding out one of his hands. "Nice save." He says with a grin. I grasp onto his hand and pull myself up.

"I'm good at those things." I say, smirking back as I land another kiss onto his soft lips, only for a couple of second.

I open the door to my room, leaving the candle alight on the desk, lighting the whole room up and we both leave.

I walk into the kitchen and Luke follows close behind. Everyone was at the kitchen area, and not the table. It was surprising. I grab a cup from the cupboard and walk over to the sink.

"Excuse me, Rebecca." I ask in a polite way, wanting her to move away from the sink so I could have a drink.

She moves to the right, and I fill up my cup. I turn off the tap, and start to drink it.

"So, when the time comes, who's going to put her down?" Carlos asks, folding his arms.

I choke a little on the water and begin to cough. Wincing, I nearly shout "What?!" I say, placing my hand on my chest and taking big, deep breaths.

"If it turns out to be a lurker bite, then we can't just let her turn." Carlos replies.

I regain myself and look at him. "I'm not gonna do it." I say.

Everyone turns to Nick, who's holding his rifle.

"What?" He asks, confused. He sighs. "Fine, I'll do it."

I look at Luke, who's standing next to me, with a concerned face. He returns the look.

"What if she's with someone?" I ask, placing the cup in the sink.

"Yeah, like Carver!" Rebecca shouts.

I look over to Rebecca. "No, Rebecca. Not Carver. Like an actual group."

Carlos adds in. "Whoever she's with, they'll probably come looking for her."

Alvin sighs. "Great, they show up we've got her locked up in a shed."

"You think we should bring her in here?!" Rebecca asks, in a forcefully, concerned tone.

Alvin places a hand on Rebecca's shoulder. "No. I'm just saying it wouldn't look too good." He says, assuring her.

Rebecca's face lightens up a little as she breathes a sigh of relief.

"It's just a precautionary measure. Anyone else would do the same." Carlos says, still having his arms folded.

Luke looks over to me, and back to the group. "You really think Carver would come after us...?" He asks, his puppy dog eyes shimmering in the light.

"You think he wouldn't?!" Nicks bursts.

"He's not exactly the type to let things go." Pete agrees with Nick.

"What happened, happened. There's nothing we could have done." Luke says, frowning as he looks over to Rebecca.

Rebecca looks down at her stomach, placing her hands over it.

"Let him come, I really don't give a damn!" Alvin hisses.

Rebecca looks up at Alvin. "Alvin..."

"What? I don't!" Alvin retorts.

Pete steps in. "We shouldn't be focusing on what happened before, we need to know what we're gonna do if it wasn't a luker bite."

"We let her into the group, simple?" I reply.

"Are you sure about that? What if it ends up that she IS with Carver, and she leads him right to us?" Carlos jumps in.

"Do you really think Carver would let a little girl get bitten? His place is secure. There's no way she could have gotten out of there." Luke replies, folding his arms before gesturing his hand.

"But are we really willing to let her in?" Nick asks. Placing his rifle on the counter.

"If a little girl her age can survive two years in this thing, I'm sure she could be helpful." I retort.

The group keeps talking for another thirty minutes, until we hear thumps, yelps and a whole bunch of other noises from the shed.

"Can you hear that?" Pete asks.

"Sounds like it's comin' from the shed." Luke replies.

"I told you it was a lurker bite! She's turned already!" Rebecca hisses at the group. Throwing her fists in a fit of rage.

We all gather our weapons and make a run for it to the shed. As we head outside, Rebecca stays on the porch, as Luke and I run straight up to the shed first. We swing open the doors to see a walker, a hammer, and... Clementine.

"Holy shit..." Luke says in awe.

"Jesus Christ, are you okay?" I ask, concerned for her.

Clementine pulls the hammer from the walker's head and steps back. She turns to face us as the rest of the group comes up.

"How did it get in here..?" Nick asks as his jaw drops.

"Little girl's tough as nails." Pete spits out, as his face is in utter shock.

Holding her arm, she hisses. "I'm still. NOT. BITTEN." She says, in between breaths. "I never was. And you left me out here to die!"

Luke comes to realization as he looks at her arm. "You patched yourself up...?" He asks.

Wait, what?! Where the hell did-

Nick steps forward in anger. "Where'd you get that stuff?!"

Rebecca hisses at the little girl. "Did she STEAL from us?!"

Pete retorts to the both. "This doesn't change a thing. She hasn't done anything to us."

"Says the man NOT carrying a baby." Rebecca scowls at Pete.

"Enough already!" He replies to her.

"Both of you, cut it out." I yelp at the both.

"Guys, please." Luke responds.

Clementine looks down at her arm, and looks back up to us. "I did. I took stuff and I'm sorry. I really am." She apologizes.

"And you think you can trust her...?" Rebecca asks me in anger.

"She did what any of us would have done if we were her, so you can stop now, Rebecca. You need to relax." I retort, keeping in mind that she's hormonal.

"Bring her in, and I'll take another look at her arm." Carlos says, beginning to walk back to the cabin. The rest of the group follow close behind him as me and Luke stay behind.

Clementine begins to walk when Luke stops her.

"You hungry...?" He asks her.

She doesn't even bat an eye at him. She just stops and stares at the ground for a brief moment and continues to walk.

Luke looks over at me with a guilty face. I look back at him, and we begin to walk back into the cabin.

* * *

_**[A/N]**_**_I hope you guys liked this chapter! We've reached upto 20 reviews! That's just breath taking. I'll be uploading another 2 chapters today. 3 if I'm up for it! A review, follow and favourite is much appreciated! Hope you enjoyed!_**

**_-Inf._**


	10. A Great Guy

_**[A/N] Not really much for an authors note right now, besides I hope you enjoy this chapter! Trust me, it'll make your feels go through the roof. Enjoy!**_

* * *

Luke and I stand nervously together while we wait for Carlos' input of the bite. Nick stands next to the window with his rifle on the table.

Carlos examines Clementine's bite and every he touches the wrong spot, she winces.

Luke keeps pacing around and it's making me even more nervous.

"Luke, cut it out." I whisper as I grab ahold of his wrist.

He looks down at me and stops pacing.

"This might hurt a little." Carlos informs her as he applies pressure to the wound that she's stitched up herself.

Clementine winces as she let's out a little yelp. "Ow!"

I seriously can't believe that a little girl like her can stitch herself up using fishing wire. I actually can't believe that she stitched herself up in general.

"How she look?" Luke asks, looking over at Carlos.

"Her suturing skills need some work. But otherwise, I'd say she should be fine." Carlos replies as he stands up from bending down to her arm.

Luke steps forward in relief. "So it wasn't a lurker bite?" He asks.

"If it was, the fever would have already set in and her temperature would be through the roof." Carlos replies as Nick storms out.

Luke sighs, and follows him out.

I walk up to Clementine and give her a soft smile. "Glad you're okay, kid." I say, bending down a little.

"I'm glad too. Thank you for sticking up for me." She says with a smile back.

"Of course, anytime kid." I reply, walking out of the room.

* * *

I make it to my bedroom and shut the door. The window was still open, letting in little drops of rain. I walk over to the window and shut it close, locking it after it connects.

I shiver a little as I close the curtains. I walk over to my wardrobe and pick out a gray skin-tight shirt. Closing the wardrobe, I throw it onto my bed and take off my white t-shirt. I grab the shirt and put it on myself, grabbing the white t-shirt I put it on, over the shirt for even more warmth.

I open the door to my bedroom and close it behind me as I walk out. Folding my arms, I walk down the stairs. Seeing no one in sight besides Carlos emerging from the kitchen and Luke entering with a bowl.

I walk past Carlos and into the kitchen. I see Clementine walking towards the table with a smile and Luke placing the bowl down for her and taking a seat opposite to her.

Luke notices that I've walked in and gives me a small nod. I smile back at him, taking a seat next to him.

"That's gonna leave on helluva scar." Luke says to her, giving a little smile.

"Better than losing it." Clementine replies.

_'Smart girl.'_ I think.

"Ha, you can say that again. Scars? Way cooler than stumps." He says, giving off a little laugh.

"Definitely." She replies with a smile.

I look over to her and ask. "Where's your group?"

Her facial expression dims a little. "Me and this woman, Christa, got attacked. It was just me until I got bitten by a dog. Then Luke and Pete found me."

"Oh.." I reply. "I'm sorry to hear that. At least Luke found you, thank god." I say with a little smile, rubbing my hand on Luke's shoulder.

"Are you two together?" Clementine asks.

Luke looks over to me, waiting for an answer.

"Yeah, we are. Why do you ask?" I reply.

She swallows a mouthful of oatmeal that Luke prepared for her before answering. "You guys seemed like you were together, and he was always staring and smiling at you, so I put two and two together."

Luke's face flushes a little red when I look at him. I give him a big smile as I rest my head against his shoulder.

We hear the door to the kitchen open, and Nick enter. I move my head away from Luke's shoulder and look up at Nick.

He waltzes over to Clementine and scratches the back of his head.

"Hey look. Um, I just wanted to say sorry for... well, being a dick out there. I got kinda aggro and... that was definitely not cool." He apologizes, looking at Clementine for an answer.

Luke jumps in to back Nick up. "Nick's been known to go off every once in a while. Don't hold it against him."

"Nick's a great guy, though. He's just... having a hard time right now." I assure Clementine with a nod.

"Yeah, I guess we all have our moments." Nick adds in.

"You definitely had one out there." Luke says with a little smile, looking over at Nick.

Clementine turns to Nick and responds. "You were just protecting your friends. I get it."

"I didn't mean to be so harsh. I just... we had a bad experience once." Nick tells her as his face turns into a deep sadness.

"We've all had bad experiences." Clementine says, trying to comfort Nick.

Nick plumps down on the chair next to her, his face still hurt from the time his mom, well..

Luke goes in to speak. "Nick lost his mom. We took care of someone who'd got bit."

"It was my fault.. I-" I cut Nick off.

"It wasn't your fault, Nick. We couldn't have done anything." I say, trying to comfort him.

Luke continues after me. "It was no ones fault. We thought we could control it, but... we couldn't. And then she turned and his mom was standing right there and she got attacked..." He says, feeling horrible about the incident. But he continues. "There was nothing we could do about it."

Nick looks up at Clementine. "Anyway. Hopefully you understand." He states as he stands up.

She looks up at him and responds. "I do, yeah."

Nick gives her a little smile and walks out of the room.

"So since you're pretty much on your own... what's your plan?" Luke asks, gesturing a hand.

I look at Luke with a confused face. "She can stay here, can't she?" I ask.

He looks back at me with a small smile. "Of course she can, I was just wondering if she would decide to stay or not." He replies.

"Oh, I see." I say, nodding. "Well, do you want to stay here, kid?" I ask her with a little smile.

"Do you think everyone else will be okay with it?" She asks us.

He gives her a little smile. "They'll just have to deal with it."

She smiles back and eats her food again.

"So... what happened to your parents..?" Luke asks.

"Luke..." I hiss at him. He looks over to me with wide eyes.

"If you don't mind me asking.." He continues, looking over at Clementine to avoid my glares. "I mean, I assume what happened to them is what happened to just about everyone's parents."

I look back over to Clementine in concern. "You don't have to tell us if you don't feel comfortable."

She looks up at us with a hurt face. "They died." She responds.

Ouch. That hits a kid pretty hard. I remember just how bad it was when dad went missing. Claire was so hurt, so traumatized.

"That's tough... I uh, I lost my folks too." Luke says, trying to comfort her to make her not feel alone.

"I've lost just about everyone. Didn't have a mom since I was seven... she uh, died giving birth to my sister, Claire. My dad was at work when this all started, he worked at the air force. He never made it back home, and that's when we both went to look for him and we couldn't find him. For two years, me and Claire were together. Just a little bit ago I lost her too." I sigh, looking down at the table. I felt that if I told her that I've lost people too, she wouldn't feel so alone, so hurt, and whatever happens, happens.

"I'm sorry for your loss." Clementine says.

"It's okay, Clementine. I just want you to know that you're not alone. Everyone's lost something in this world, and it'll keep happening. We just need to deal with it." I say, smiling.

"My parents went on vacation and left me with a baby sitter. We went to Savannah to find them... but they were already dead." Clementine began.

Luke looks down at the table. "Wow.. well I'm sorry to hear that."

"This man, found me and took care of me. We met up with other survivors and we all tried to make it, but... it didn't work. His name was Lee."

My eyes widen, and I let go of Luke's grasp.

She continued. "He taught me how to survive. He's the reason why I keep my hair short."

I look over to Clementine and ask. "Lee? As in Lee Everett?"

She looked up at me confused. "Yeah, Lee Everett..."

I was in utter shock. I can't believe Clementine knew him! "Clementine, Lee was married to my aunt. God, I loved that guy so much. He and my dad were good friends, too."

Clementine's face lit up with awe. "I can't believe you knew him..." she said, dropping her spoon on the table.

"Clem, what happened to him...?" I ask, in curiosity but still scared at the same time.

She looks down at the table. "I killed him..."

"W-what..?" I ask confused, little bits of tears filling my eyes.

She winces at the sight of my face. "He got bitten... protecting me and I had to kill him before he turned." She replies.

"Oh.. I see." I say, in relief that he died protecting someone. Luke rubs my shoulder as he puts his arm around me.

"I had to... I'm sorry." She says, tears filling up her eyes.

I look back at her. "It's okay. At least he was protecting you."

"He sounded like a great guy." Luke adds in.

"He was." Clementine responds.

"He was an amazing guy." I add.

Suddenly, the door to the kitchen opens and Pete comes in.

"I hate to interrupt, but I'm out there standing watch and I can't help but notice this place is lit up like a goddamn beacon in the middle of the woods." He says, walking forward to the table in a normal tone.

"Yeah, it's time to turn in anyways." Luke says, turning his attention to Clementine.

"Hey your winks while you can 'cause we're goin' finishing at first light. A couple fresh brookies for dinner? Mm, wouldn't that be nice." Pete informs the girl while walking up to us.

Luke emerges from his seat and lands a kiss on my forehead before the two walk out.

"Welp, I'm gonna go put some blankets on the couch for you. I'll be back right in a tick." I tell her, while getting out of my seat and walking out of the room.

I walk past Rebecca who walks straight into the kitchen. I open the wardrobe door near the TV and pull out some blankets and a pillow. I shut the door with my foot and plop it on the couch. After setting it up, I walk to the kitchen door and hear Rebecca having a go at Clementine.

"What? I'm sorry... I don't understand...?" Clementine asks, confused.

"Yes, you do." Rebecca hisses back.

"I just needed some help.." Clementine retorts.

"Well you got it. Now go." She says, forcefully.

"Whose baby is it?" She asks.

Oh god, oh no, Clementine... How did she know..?

"E-Excuse me..?" Rebecca asks in a hesitant tone.

Clementine.. don't do this..

"If it's not Alvin's, then whose is it?" Clementine retorts back.

Rebecca hisses at her. "You shut your fucking mouth!"

"You should probably think about being nicer to me. That's just my advice." Clementine says back at her.

"I knew you-" I cut off Rebecca by entering.

"Rebecca, you really shouldn't be up this late. Go get some rest." I say in a polite tone.

"Gladly." She hisses back at me, looking down at Clementine as she leaves the room.

I walk over to Clementine. "Clem, the couch is ready." I say, pointing to the door.

"Okay, thank you." She says, finishing her bowl of food.

Before walking out of the room, I say "Don't forget to blow out the candles when you're done." And walk out.

* * *

_**[A/N] SASSY ASS CLEMENTINE IS SASSY. I knew you guys really waited to see the connection of Lee between Kirsten and Clementine.**_

**_A review, follow and favourite is much appreciated! Hope you enjoyed!_**

**_-Inf._**


	11. Gone Missin'

**_[A/N] I hope you guys enjoy this chapter! Clementine won't really be in it much, besides being mentioned. Enjoy!_**

* * *

By the time I woke up, the sun had just raised. The rain had stopped, but there was still dew on my window as I opened the curtains.

I was still in disbelief over what happened last night. I couldn't believe that Clementine knew Lee. I'm thankful for meeting her, and thankful that Lee took care of her.

I unlocked the window and pulled it up as the morning breeze fell into my room. I bent down a little and rested my hand on the window ledge, and supported my head with it. Just observing the landscape. I felt a pair of hands hug me from behind, it wasn't Luke because it didn't feel muscular.. and I doubt anyone else would want to-

"Good morning, Kirsten!" I hear a high pitched voice say from behind me, I turned around to see Sarah, clinging onto me.

I smile and hug her back. "Oh hey, Sarah. Did you meet Clementine?" I ask.

She let's go of me and steps back a bit. "Yeah, I did! We're best friends for life!"

"Wait, what?" I confusedly say.

"We're best friends! She came to me yesterday for stuff for her arm and I asked if we could be best friends and she said yes!" She replies to me. "But dad said to stay away from her for some reason... he didn't say why. It's pretty hard to be best friends but stay away from her." Sarah says to me, while looking down to the floor and twisting her foot.

I get the understanding as to why he'd say that. Carlos is an overprotective father, I mean, he hasn't even taught Sarah how to use a gun, which is dangerous. What would Sarah do if she was by herself with no one to protect her?

"Uh huh... well. It's always nice to meet someone new. I think that you should be able to be friends with her, just be careful around her." I alert her. She gives me a nod.

"Let's go get some breakfast!" Sarah excitedly yelps as she grabs my hand and pulls me out the door.

* * *

We make it to the kitchen to see Rebecca, Alvin, Carlos and Luke at the table wating breakfast.

"Oh, did they already leave?" I ask.

Luke gives me a nod and pats the seat next to him. I walk over and sit myself down while Sarah runs over to her dad and gives him a big hug while sitting next to him.

Rebecca was still in a pissed mood from yesterday nights 'talk' with Clementine.

"Rebecca, come on. Just forget about it, she's a little kid." Alvin tries to simmer her down, but she won't have at it.

She folds her arms and look away from him. "She's working for Carver, I know it!" She hisses.

Luke looks over to me in confusion. "For Carver...?" He asks as he swallows his food.

"Yes! She asked me who's baby it was, how would she know that?!" Rebecca tries to plead her case.

Alvin tries to calm her down. "She could have heard us speaking about it? I mean, she did come in here for supplies."

"Rebecca, I think you're just paranoid. You need to calm down, okay? She's not gonna do anything." I tried to plead with her, and it surprisingly worked.

Rebecca sighs a little and she rests her head in her hands. "You're right. I think it's just the baby talking."

By the time Rebecca gave in, everyone had finished eating. Rebecca stood up and walked into the kitchen to get a glass of water. Everyone went there own ways while I stayed behind to talk to Rebecca.

I walk up the her as she just finishes the glass of water.

"Rebecca, I heard the conversation you and Clementine had..." I say, placing my hands on her shoulders. "She's just a little girl. She can't do anything. I know, you didn't want to hear what she said, but when she's getting offended she'll defend. A lot like how you would."

"You're right. I should apologize to her." She says, rubbing her face.

"You should. I'm sure she'll understand that you're paranoid." I say, smiling at her.

"Thanks, Kirst." She says, as I give her a hug.

Rebecca leaves the room and I open the pantry for a little snack. The only thing in there that's worth eating right now is an energy bar. I couldn't be bothered eating it right now, but I guess I'll-

Well, hello there pair of muscular hands. Luke places his hands on my hips and gives me a kiss on the cheek.

"How'd you sleep?" He asks while he lets go of me and grabs a cup.

"I slept alright. You?" I question him while leaning against the counter.

"It was an alright sleep." He responds to me, smiling as he turns the tap on, filling his cup.

I come to think of something.. "Hey, Luke. Why don't we share rooms?" I ask him.

He stops drinking as his eyes widen and looks over to me. He shrugs a little and starts to drink again.

"Well, do you want to?" I ask leaning off the counter.

He holds onto his cup of water and walks over to me. "Do you?" He questions me with a raised eyebrow.

"Of course, why do you think I asked?" I reply, grabbing his hand.

"Alright then. We'll share a room." He says smiling as he wraps his arms around my waist, his hands meeting at the small of my back, still holding his glass of water. I cling my arms around his neck and give his a long kiss. As I pull away, I stare into his eyes.

Resting my head on his chest, I'm facing the kitchen door. I see it open a little and a pair of red glasses.

"Sarah!" I yell, still in Luke's grasp.

"Sarah?" He asks me, confused and raising an eyebrow.

I hear giggles as I let out of Luke's grasp.

Luke obviously heard it too. "Oh, _Sarah_..." He says, folding his arms and nodding. "Wait, Sarah?!" He yelps, realizing that she just saw us both.

I run to the kitchen door and hear little foot steps and giggles as open I open it. Sarah ran upstairs.

I close the door and sigh. Luke walks over, leaning against the wall with a smirk.

"What are you smiling about...?" I ask, confused.

He spins me around and taps the small of my back.

"What are you-" I say peering over my shoulder to see water on my back. "Goddamnit." I say, sighing.

Luke grabs my hand and places the cup on the counter. "Come on, let's go get you cleaned up." He says with a smile as we both leave the room.

* * *

I shut the door to my room and Luke sits on my bed. I walk over to the wardrobe and open it, looking at the few choices of shirts I could wear. It was too cold for a t-shirt on it's own, and I only had one big black jumper. So, I'm guessing that's what I'll be wearing for today. Just until my clothes dry.

"Pick what you're wearin'?" Luke asks, as I turn around and close the wardrobe doors with my foot.

"Mhm." I say, walking over to the desk and putting the clothes on the chair.

I take off my t-shirt and throw it behind me, landing on my bed.

"When do you think they'll be back?" I ask, while taking off my gray shirt.

The only thing I have on the top half of my body is a bra... and Luke's hands. Goddamnit, Luke.

"Dunno, hopefully soon." He replies. His hands are warm as they touch my stomach.

I peer over my shoulder. "The only reason why I'm letting you touch me without a shirt on is because your hands are warm." I say, giving a little smile.

"Oh, sure... Of course that's the reason." Luke sarcastically says, while giving a little laugh.

I spin my body around and place my hands on his face. "Yeah, it's true! Feel my hands, they're so cold." I say, evilly grinning while I do so. Just to torture him with my cold hands.

"Ah, okay, I get it! You're cold, Kirst stop...!" Luke laughs, while I keep placing my cold hands all over him and he twitches at the feel of them.

He playfully grabs me and throws me onto the bed. "If ya don't stop, I'll throw you outside. Topless." He says, smiling as he pins me down.

"Well, you'll just have to do that." I retort while placing my hands on his face again.

He winces a little, but stops. "Your plan failed, Kirst. They're getting warm." He says with a smile.

"Oh no, I must think of a new plan to make you weak at will!" I sarcastically say while talking in a weird tone. "Ah! I know!" I say while grabbing his face and pressing his lips up against mine.

As we're kissing he puts his hands underneath my back and pulls me up and holds his hands in surrender. I pull away from the kiss and look into his eyes.

I jump up from my bed and walk over to the chair. I put on my t-shirt and before the black jumper, I peer over my shoulder to look at Luke.

"I win." I enthusiastically say before putting on my jumper.

"Huh..? Oh, yeah." He coughs a little. "You win." He says, smiling.

I guess I really did make Luke weak at will.

* * *

As it's getting closer to dinner time, Carlos paces in the kitchen as we're all sitting down.

"We gotta go look for 'em." Alvin pleads.

"But it's too risky, please, don't go!" Rebecca replies.

Luke walks up to Rebecca and places a hand on her shoulder. "Look, Rebecca. I know you don't want him to go, but we need to, okay? They could be in danger. We'll be back before you know it." Luke convinces Rebecca, as she sighs.

"Alright, fine. Just be, careful." She says as she turns to Alvin.

I give Luke a little kiss before he leaves. "You be careful, too. Okay?" I reassure him.

"Of course." He says smiling before him and Alvin leave through the back door that leads out of the kitchen and outside.

I look over to Rebecca who's stressed out at the moment. "You need anything, Rebecca?" I ask her.

"A glass of water would be great, thanks." She replies. Giving me a forced smile.

I stand up from my chair and walk into the kitchen. I grab a cup and fill it up with water. I turn off the tap and walk over to Rebecca. Handing her the cup.

"Thanks." She says, grabbing the cup and taking a sip.

"It's alright, Bec. They'll be back, trust me." I say looking into her eyes.

"I believe you, Kirst. I think I just need some rest." She says, standing up from her seat and rubbing her head.

I stand up with her and take her glass. "Alright, you should. Need that baby to grow." I say with a smile.

Rebecca walks out of the room and It's just Carlos and I.

I sit back down into my chair and look at Carlos.

"We gotta talk." I say, as he looks up at me in confusion. "It's about Sarah."

"And what exactly are we talking about?" He asks.

"Her protecting herself." I say, looking at the door to make sure she isn't there.

Carlos glares at me. "She doesn't need to protect herself, I'll protect her." He scowls at me.

"Carlos, that's not how things work now. She needs to be able to protect herself if something happens to you." I plead with him.

He keeps glaring at me when he speaks. "You do not know what she needs! She'll be fine, as long as she stays away from Clementine, she'll be okay!" He hisses.

"Carlos! You need to understand that if she's on her own, she'll need to be able to survive!" I hiss back. Sighing, I say in a soft voice. "Do you really want your little girl to be sheltered right now, but when it comes to a point in her life where she needs to save you or more importantly, herself, she can't? Do you want your little girl to always hide in fear?"

Carlos stands up from his chair. "I'll think about it. For now, she's safe." He says as he walks out of the kitchen.

I sigh, rubbing my face with my hands.

* * *

The sunlight from the window beams into my room and onto my eyes. I sit up from my bed, rubbing my eyes as I lift up the sheets and swing my legs out. I stand up, trying to keep my balance and look back at the bed.

"Luke..?" I say, looking around. "Goddamnit, Luke?!" I shout, opening my bedroom door and running downstairs.

As I reach the last step I trip a little, holding onto the wall and regaining my balance. I run over to the kitchen door and push it open.

"Luke?!" I ask, but I only see Rebecca and Carlos at the table.

Rebecca is over stressed as Carlos is trying to comfort her.

"They aren't back yet.. are they..?" I murmur.

Rebecca looks up at me. "No, they aren't! I'm starting to get really worried!

I walk over to Rebecca and place her down on the chair. "Rebecca, calm down. Okay? We'll find them."

The back door swings open as Clementine runs inside.

"Clementine! Are you alright?" Carlos asks, standing up from his chair.

"Luke's not with you?" I ask, looking over at the door.

Rebecca jumps to her feet and asks "Where's Alvin?!"

"What happened? It's been hours. Where are they?!" Carlos asks in concern.

Clementine looks up at the three of us. "We got attacked."

Rebecca's eyes widen. "By who?!"

"Walkers." She replies.

"Jesus.." Rebecca says in a stressed tone.

"Pete got killed..." Clementine says, looking down with a hurt expression.

Rebecca winces at the news, shutting her eyes and looking to the left of her.

"I was with Nick, but..." She cuts herself off.

I jump in. "Did you see any sign of Luke? or Alvin?"

"No.. I didn't." Clementine responds.

"Where were you? Where were you exactly?!" Rebecca asks, in a forceful tone.

Clementine looks up at us. "Down by the stream."

"We gotta go!" Rebecca turns to Carlos.

"Now just hold on a minute-" Carlos tries to plead.

Rebecca throws her hands in a fit of rage. "My husband is still out there! GET THE GUNS!"

"Go, I'll take care of Sarah and Clementine." I say, looking at Clementine.

Both Rebecca and Carlos leave the room to get the guns.

"You alright, Clementine?" I ask, as I place a hand on her shoulder. Kneeling down to her level.

"Pete got bit.. Kirsten. Pete died." She says, in a hurt tone.

"I know, Clem. It's okay." I give her a small hug and let go.

Rebecca and Carlos come running into the room with guns. Carlos opens the door and Rebecca walks out.

"Take care of Sarah for me, Kirsten." He assures me.

"I will." I say as he leaves the cabin.

* * *

_**[A/N] WOW. That was quite the chapter. Just because I love you guys, I'll upload another chapter. Making that 4 chapters in one day!**_

_**A review, follow and favourite is much appreciated!**_

_**-Inf.**_


	12. Strangers Await

**_[A/N] Not much of an authors note. Enjoy the chapter!_**

* * *

As I open the door of Sarah's room, Clementine and I are greeted with a flash of light.

"Say Cheese!" She says, as takes a picture of the both of us.

We both jump back as it gave us a shock.

"I found this under the house. There was all kinds of old stuff!" She says, jumping on her feet. She takes the polaroid out of the camera and hands it to me and Clementine. "It's so cool! Take one of me!" She says, handing the camera to Clementine. "Come on, take one of me."

"Sure." Clementine says as she takes off her backpack and sets it down on the floor.

"Get me in a good pose, okay?" Sarah assures her as I stand back and lean against the wall.

Clementine holds the camera up to her face, ready to take the picture. Sarah stands back a bit and smiles.

"Okay, ready!" She says, smiling. Making the words come out a little weird.

I give a small giggle as Sarah tries to speak.

Clementine takes the picture and waits for the polaroid to come out. When it does, she takes it out and hands it to Sarah. Clementine looks down after handing the camera back to her.

"What's wrong? Um, where's my dad?" Sarah asks with a worried expression on her face.

Clementine looks over to me wide eyed.

"Oh, they've gone to help down at the stream with the fish traps." I answer, Sarah didn't believe me. Her expression grew bigger as Clementine looked back at her.

"He told you not to tell me... didn't he?" Sarah asks, fear surrounding her face. I walk over to her and place my hand on her shoulder. "Oh my gosh." She says in utter shock.

"Sarah.." I softly say, but she turns around and faces the window. Taking in deep breaths, slowly hyper-ventilating.

"Sorry, I- I just need to.." She says, sitting down on the floor.

Clementine looks at me with utter fear. I have no idea what to do, so I just shrug at her. Clementine sits down on the floor with her and I join in too. Sarah looks at the both of us and we give her little smiles.

Sarah's eyes widen and she gives a smile. "Wanna see what I found?" She asks, standing up.

Me and Clementine stand up from the floor and watch Sarah squirm under the bed. As she emerges she has a gun in her hand.

A gun. Something Carlos won't teach her how to use in case of an accident.

"Will you teach me how to use it?" Sarah asks, handing me the gun. "I couldn't find any bullets. If something's wrong, I should know. What if I have to use one?"

"Alright, but it's not a toy. Or something you can use when you get bored." I say, spinning her around, away from me and Clementine.

"Okay, what do I do?" Sarah asks, aiming the gun at the window.

I pull out her arms a little as they were too close to her body.

"Okay, first-"

I'm cut off by Clementine. "The most important thing is, when you go to shoot, take a breath before you pull the trigger."

I look over to her in awe. "How'd you find that out?" I ask her, looking behind me.

"Lee told me." She says with a slight smile.

I smile back. "Yeah, he taught me that too. He and my dad used to go to the shooting range and brought me along with them." I state, recalling the past.

Sarah takes in a really big, deep breath.

"Not that big." I say with a little laugh.

She lets out the big breath and turns her attention to the walls. Sarah turns back to me and Clementine, aiming the gun at us.

"What should I shoot?" She asks, as me and Clementine duck down to the floor.

"Sarah, no!" I yelp.

"Don't do that!" Clementine yelps, too.

Sarah lowers the gun as her eyes widen. "S-sorry! Sorry." She turns around and faces the window. "Maybe I could practise outside?" She asks. "There's that tree..." She says, looking out the window. "Hey, Luke's back!" She yelps as she runs out of the room.

Finally, they're okay. Thank god he isn't hurt.

Clementine and I walk out of the room and down stairs. We see Sarah hiding behind the wall of the door in fear.

"That's not Luke..." She says to us. "Clem, I think I know him."

I peek my head over to looks through the door window. Oh god... oh no... It's Carver.

"Clementine, he _can't _us." I say, grabbing Sarah by the wrist. "You need to distract him while we go hide, at least go and lock the door."

"Okay, go. I got it." She says as she walks up to the door.

I grab Sarah's hand and drag her upstairs, we hide under the bed in her room.

Sarah whispers to me in fear. "What's he gonna do?"

"He won't do anything to Clementine. Her attending the door will catch him off guard. He won't think we're here." I say, patting her back.

A few minutes later, the muffled talking stops. The bedroom door creaks open and Carver enters.

"I told you, nobody's here." Clementine hisses at Carver.

He puts his gun back into his holster. "Seems the way." He says, looking around. "Didn't mean to be rude, couldn't just leave you here with a good conscience if someone was pokin' around, right?"

"Sure..." Clementine says in a weird tone.

It looked like Carver was just about to leave, until he bent down and picked up the polaroid of Sarah.

_'Oh goddamnit.' _I hiss in my head.

"Who's this?" Carver asks.

Clementine responds. "Must be someone who lived here." Clementine responds.

"Must be." Carver says, dropping the picture onto the floor. "You have no idea who these people are, do you?"

Clementine folds her arms. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Lemme ask you this. When you met 'em, how much did they trust you?" He asks.

"Kirsten trusted me." She says.

Why the hell did she tell him?!

"Yeah, I figured she would. She has a soft spot for kids." Carver responds.

Fuck.

"If people don't trust you, how can you trust them?" He says to her, folding his arms.

There was a brief moment of silence before it was broken.

"Well, I think I've troubled you long enough. I can let myself out." Carver says, walking out of the bedroom.

As Carver walks down the stairs, Clementine scowls at the man. "Don't come back!"

"You have a real good day, now." He says, as he leaves the cabin and the door shuts.

Sarah and I come out from under the bed.

"Where is he?" Sarah asks.

"He's gone." Clementine responds, as all three of us look out the window.

Sarah looks over to me. "What if he comes back?" She asks, fear overrunning her face.

* * *

As all three of us sit on the couch, Clementine breaks the ice of silence.

"We need to find the others." Clementine says.

I look over at her like she's crazy. "Clem, we can't. They'll be back."

"But we need to!" She says, standing up from the couch and walking to the kitchen door.

Sarah and I both stand up, and walk over to Clementine. I quicken my pace to get in front of Clementine.

"At least, let me lead." I say, opening the kitchen door.

As I do, the back door swings open and Luke enters.

"Kirsten!" He shouts as I run up to him and give him a hug.

"Thank god you're all okay." I say, releasing from the hug.

Sarah runs past me and into Carlos' arms. "Dad!" She yelps as he returns the hug.

Luke turns to Clementine. "You were with Nick, right? We gotta go find him."

Sarah releases from her fathers hug. "A man was here..."

"What?!" Carlos hisses.

Rebecca turns around. "What did she say?!"

"Someone came to the cabin." Sarah blurts out.

"What?!" Rebecca says in utter shock.

"Clementine talked to him.." Sarah continues to speak.

"And you just opened the door for him?!" Rebecca hisses at Clementine.

Clementine responds. "He was coming in either way."

"She tried to lock the door, but he opened it before she could." I say, backing up Clementine.

"She's telling the truth!" Sarah adds in.

Carlos looks down at Clementine. "Did he say his name? Did he say what his name was?"

"Maybe it wasn't him.." Rebecca tries to plead with herself.

"It was Carver, I saw." I say, before Clementine speaks.

"He didn't touch you, did he?" Luke asks, concerned.

"No, me and Sarah hid before he came in." I reply, looking up at Luke.

Carlos places his hand on Sarah's shoulder and looks at her. "You know these are bad people, sweetie. They will do or say anything to hurt us."

"He saw a picture of me.." Sarah blurts out.

"A picture?! What were you doing taking pictures?!" Carlos shouts at Sarah.

"Carlos!" Luke hisses.

"What?!" Carlos retorts.

"You need to calm down, okay? You're scaring your daughter." Luke insists, trying to calm Carlos down.

Clementine jumps in. "I took it, it was my fault."

"No, it was my fault! I asked her to." Sarah argues back.

"It was my fault. I should have thought about the consequences." I said, jumping in for both of the girls.

Carlos sighs and looks to the group. "He was scouting... We got lucky. He wasn't expecting to find us." He places a hand on Sarah's shoulder. "Clementine must've surprised him, if she hadn't been there..." He stops himself. "Well, he was too smart to stick around. But he'll be back with the rest." He says, pulling his hand off of Sarah. "We don't have much time."

"He's right. Everyone pack up, we're movin' out." Luke informs the group.

I look over to Luke. "Luke, are you sure?" I ask with a concerned face.

"I'm sure. Better to be safe than sorry." He says, landing a kiss on my forehead. He turns his attention to Clementine as Carlos and Sarah walk out. "Look, we gotta find Nick on our way out of here. You know where he was, right?"

"Yeah." Clementine replies.

"Alright. Everyone grab your stuff. Let's hit the road."

* * *

_**[A/N] Hope you enjoyed that chapter! I'll be uploading another one just for the sake of it. I'm sorry, but I've fallen in love with writing this Fanfic for some odd reason. A review, follow and favourite is appreciated! Hope you enjoyed!**_

_**-Inf.**_


	13. Hit the Road

_**[A/N] Ahh, I know, I was meant to post this chapter last night but when I was writing it I accidentally closed the tab like the little fucking noob I am, and lost everything. **_

_**But on a higher note, we reached 1,000+ VIEWS! *confetti* That's freaking amazing, holy fecal matter. what**_

_**Anyway, Enjoy the chapter!**_

* * *

The morning was bright and sunny as we were walking through the woods with the group and our stuff. Before we left, I changed my clothes back into what I was wearing before I got water spilled all over it. Luke and I were leading the group with Clementine by our side.

"Now, you said it was just up here?" Luke asks, pointing straight ahead of us.

Clementine falls back a little as she responds. "Yeah, just a little ways."

As Clementine falls back, Rebecca walks up to her. Let's hope she's apologizing and not arguing with her.

You changed your clothes?" Luke asks me, looking down at me.

I look down at my clothes and fold my arms. "Yeah, that jumper was making me itch like crazy." I respond, looking up at Luke.

"I thought that jumper was kinda cute." Luke says with a grin.

"You thought wrong." I retort, clutching Luke's hand with mine.

After talking for a few minutes, Clementine drifts off to the side, going on another path. Luke looks back and swings himself and I around to follow her.

We make it to the cellar and look around for the potential threats. Two walkers, that's it.

"There, that's where we were..." Clementine says, pointing towards the cellar of stone bricks. It had two wooden doors with black handles.

Luke pulls out his machete and I pull out my hunting knife. Luke walks up to the standing walker and thrusts the machete through it's head. Falling to the floor, Luke pulls out the machete and watches me kill the walker sitting at the door. I pull the knife up into the air and forcefully drive it into through it's head. Pulling the knife out, Luke and Clementine run over towards me as I kick it out of the way.

"Nick?" Luke calls out.

"Aaaaarrrrruuuhhhh". We hear a moan come from inside the cellar. Luke looks over to me in concern.

"Get the door, Clem." I say, pulling Luke away from the day as I walk back. Keeping myself ready to pull Clementine out of the way.

Clementine pushes the wooden door thirty centimeters wide and peaks her head through. She doesn't do anything until she looks down to the cellar floor and jumps back a little.

Luke and I push the doors open further and see Nick, laying down on the floor behind some crates. Unharmed, and not bitten. We both walk down the steps and closer to Nick.

"Jesus..." Luke spits out, relieved that Nick is okay.

"Fucking hell, Nick." I say with a sigh of relief.

Nick lifts his upper body up and leans on his arm. "Oh hey, man... got any aspirin?" He asks in a sarcastic but serious tone.

"Nick, you asshole." Luke says, smiling as he walks up to Nick.

I turn around to see Clementine at the door, folding her arms. Just making sure that she's okay.

Luke helps Nick up and gives him a pat on the back. I walk over to Luke and Nick, relieved that he wasn't dead. Nick turns around and faces us and gives us both a hug.

"Pete's dead..." He cries out, wiping his eyes.

I return the hug and pat him on the back. "I'm so sorry, Nick."

"I know man, I do. We gotta get movin', okay? Carver's gang showed up. Can you make it?" Luke asks, releasing from the hug.

I let go of Nick look up at Luke, he looks back down at me with a frown on his face.

"Yeah... yeah." Nick says, rubbing his face with his hands.

"Good, let's go." Luke says, as we all leave the cellar.

* * *

We began to walk again, this time Carlos and Sarah leading the way. Luke and I were walking together, with Clementine on my right.

Nick walks up to Clementine with a small smile. "Hey, Clem... I just wanted to say... thanks for not giving up on me."

"It's okay... I'm sorry about Pete." She says, looking up at Nick.

Nick looks down, his expression changes into a frown. "Yeah... thanks." He says, drifting off to the back of the group.

Luke looks past me and over to Clementine. "What happened back there in that cellar?" He asks. "He do somethin' stupid?"

"Nick saved my life." She says, looking up at Luke with her amber eyes, shining from the sun light.

We both look to her in awe. "Really?" We both say at the same time.

"Yeah... sort of." She says, with her face indecisive.

Luke looks at me with a face of concern. I return the look and switch my attention back to Clementine.

"I'm worried about that kid. Keep an eye on him for me, would you?" Luke asks, looking back at Nick. He spins his attention back over to Clementine with a grin. "You sure you still wanna come with us?"

"I have to look for Christa." She says, wide eyed at Luke.

"She was headed north, right?" I ask

Clementine nods. "Yeah."

"So are we." Luke responds. "Look, you're gonna have a better chance of findin' her with us than on your own."

"Yeah, you're right." Clementine smiles.

I look up at Luke and ask, "How long until we reach those mountains?"

"I figured we got about four or five days to reach those mountains." Luke says, pulling out the map of Virginia. I didn't know we were here already. "Now, if they're trackin' us, we should be able to lose them up there."

"Five days?!" Rebecca asks with a worried expression.

Alvin comforts her. "It's gonna be okay, Bec."

"We have to keep moving now. It's our only choice." Carlos says as we all continue to walk.

* * *

As nightfall hit, we found a clearing in the woods and set up camp there. Carlos and Nick built a fire while Sarah, Rebecca and Alvin went to sleep. Leaving Me, Clementine, Luke, Nick and Carlos.

"You think that's enough to keep us warm?" Nick asks, putting his hands above the fire for warmth.

"Just about." Carlos nods. He stands up and walks to the sleeping bag next to Sarah. "Luke, are you keeping watch tonight?"

"Yeah, me and Kirsten."

"Alright, I'm exhausted. I'm gonna get some rest now." Carlos informs us as he bends down to get inside the sleeping bag.

Leaving me, Clementine, Luke and Nick sitting by the fire for warmth.

"I can't believe it's gonna take five days to get to the mountains." I say, shivering.

"At least we'll be safe there." Clementine says, huddled up in a blanket.

Nick walks over to one of the backpacks by his sleeping bag and pulls out jars of liquid. Clementine's eyes widened as he sat back down near the fire.

"Again, Nick?" She asks, raising an eyebrow.

He unscrews the lid and looks at Clementine. "You want one now, kid?"

"What's moonshine?" She asks, looking at the label of the jar.

"Something that'll knock you off your feet." I say, giving a little laugh.

Luke looks over to Clementine as Nick hands him a jar. "Go on, kid. I don't think you'll be able to do this ever again."

"Kirst, you want one?" Nick asks me.

I look at the fire and back at Nick. "Nah, I'm good."

"Pussy." Nick mutters before drinking.

"I am not!" I hiss, slapping Nick's leg.

After taking a drink, Luke starts to cough. Scaring the hell out of Clementine.

"Are you okay?" She asks, as her eyes shoot directly onto Luke in fear.

"It's just the moonshine, kid. I ain't dying." He says, couching in between words.

I lift my hand out of the blanket that covers me and Luke and pat him on the back. "You idiot." I say, smiling.

"Alright, go on. You have a drink." He says, pushing the jar in my face.

I push the jar back to him with my hand. "Uh, no thanks. I've gotta keep watch."

"Aw, come on, Kirst. Just a little nip?" Nick says, obviously off his head.

I grab the jar from Luke's hand and finally give in. "Alright! Fine."

I look down at the liquid and I could taste it from here. I hold the jar up to my face, but before I drink, I say something to both of them "If I die, I'll haunt your asses." I say, before taking a gulp of the moonshine. As soon as it hits my tongue I can feel it go numb. It burns down my throat and queezes in my stomach.

I thrust the jar away from my mouth and start to cough my lungs out. As I look up, I see Luke and Nick pissing themselves laughing and Clementine trying not to giggle.

"F-fuck you.. both!" I say, trying to make the words out as my throat burns.

Luke wipes his eye, as if he had a tear from laughing so hard. "Hey, at least you didn't die." He says, wrapping his arm around my shoulder.

"You're _lucky _I didn't die." I hiss at him, but with a smile.

Nick turns to Clementine as she's just looking into the fire. "Hey, kid."

Clementine spins her head directly to Nick.

He pushes the jar towards her and she looks at it like it's a ticking time bomb.

"Uh..." She murmurs, looking straight at Nick.

"You ain't gonna die, Clem. Just try it." He says with a crooked grin.

She grabs the jar and unscrews the lid, she brings it closer to her face and takes a whiff of the alcohol. Pushing it away from her face and making a disgusted expression, she brings it back closer and takes a sip.

"Ow, ow, ow!" She says after taking it away from her mouth. "It burns like hell!"

I get out of the blanket and walk over to one of the backpacks, taking out a bottle of water. I zip it back up and throw Clementine the water, she chugs three quarters of the water from the bottle down.

"Holy shit, Clem. Calm down on the water." Luke says in shock.

She brings the bottle away from her face and puts the lid back on. Handing it back to me, I place it down beside me.

"Well, I'm gonna go try and sleep through the alcohol." Nick says, stumbling as he stands up and walks over to his sleeping bag.

I look back over to Clementine and watch her try to keep awake. "Clem, go get some rest. You can barely keep your eyes open."

She gives me a little nod and walks over to her sleeping bag.

Luke looks at me as I rest down on his shoulder.

"Hi there." He says, completely off his face.

I look up at him. "Hey... Ugh, you smell like alcohol." I say, wrinkling my nose.

"And _yooou _smell like sexy." He says, tapping my nose with his finger.

I couldn't help but laugh at how stupid he was acting. "Is that so?" I ask sarcastically.

He gives me a small nod.

"Kirst?" He asks in a serious but drunken tone. "Are you a virgin?"

My eyes widen in shock. "What? Why would you ask that?"

"'Cause you're so pretty and all, I thought that maybe you weren't a virgin." He says, hiccupping between certain words.

"That's nice to hear, but yes. I am." I say, in a playful yet confused tone. "Are you?"

He gives me a nod again before breaking the silence. "We should be each others first." He spits out.

I look at him like he's an idiot, even though I kinda want to. "I'm not gonna risk getting pregnant and bringing a baby into a world like this."

"Woah, woah, woah. Hold up, who said you were gonna get pregnant?" He asks in a stupid manner.

I look back at the fire. "Oh god, Luke. I don't know, maybe reproduction system?"

"Oh yeah." He hiccups. "I forgot about that."

I laugh a bit at his drunken self. "Go get to sleep. You can barely speak 'cause of the moonshine." I say, pulling the blanket off of him.

"'kay". He mutters, stumbling to get up.

As Luke rests himself on the sleeping bag, he begins to speak.

"Hey, Kirst?" He loudly whispers.

"Yeah?"

Luke sits up. "I love you."

_'what.'_ "What, Luke?" I say, pretending I didn't hear so I could think for a minute.

_'You know you love him. Just say it.'_

"I love you too, Luke." I say, as he sits himself back down.

* * *

As the sun rises, I open my eyes and feel extra warm. I remember swapping shifts with Carlos during the night before heading to bed. I turn around and lay on my back, looking to the right of me, I see Luke. Maybe he isn't drunk anymore, I hope not.

I stand up from the sleeping bag and see Nick sitting up, holding his head and moaning.

This was my time to piss him off. I run over to the back pack and grab two moonshine jars. I run back over to Nick and sit down in front of him.

"Hey, Nick. Remember these?" I ask in a devilish tone, shaking the moonshine jars in his face.

"Kirsten, don't you dare." He says, moaning and holding his head.

I get a little closer to him and hit the jars together. Making an irritating clank.

"Fuck. Off." He says, covering his ears.

I evilly laugh while hitting the jars together. "What's wrong, Nick? Got a hangover?" I grin.

I look to the left of Nick and see Clementine with two jars as well. She sits down next to me and starts to hit the jars together.

"Hmm, maybe you shouldn't of drank so much, Nick?" I say, as I accidentally hit the jars too hard and make one of them break.

Clementine stops hitting hers and looks down at the broken jar. The noise of the jar breaking must've annoyed Nick. A lot.

He grabbed the jars out of Clementine's hand and threw them into the forest. He then grabs the last jar out of my hand and throws it into the forest too.

"SHUT. THE FUCK. UP." He yells as he covers his ears with the pillow.

Me and Clementine burst out in laughter, waking up the rest of the group.

"What the hell is with all the noise?" Rebecca hisses, rubbing her eyes.

I look over to Clementine and she stutters a little before replying. "N-Nick was banging jars together and making a ton of noise."

Nick shoots up from the sleeping bag and glares at the both of us. "What?!" He hisses.

"Uh, yeah. Then he threw them into the forest." I continue.

"Kirsten, I will throw you AND Clementine into the forest next if you don't stop." He says in a funny, but serious tone.

Clementine and I just start to laugh again.

"The hell was that noise?" Luke asks, sitting up from the sleeping bag.

I spin my head around and look at Luke. "Oh, nothing. Nick just has a hangover." I say, standing up and walking over to Sarah's sleeping bag.

"Sarah, wake up." I say, shaking her.

She gives a little moan and rubs her eyes. Putting her glasses back on, she sits up from her sleeping bag.

"Why is Nick holding his head?" She asks me, turning her head to Nick, holding his head and pouting.

I give a little laugh. "He's, uh. Had a bit too much to drink."

"Oh..." she mutters.

"Alright, guys. Let's pack up and head out." Luke alerts the group.

* * *

**_[A/N] Eeeeeh. I hope you enjoyed that chapter! It's still breath taking that we've gotten up to 1,000+ views, and nearly 30 reviews!_**

**_Let's keep them coming! A review, follow and favourite is much appreciated!_**

**_-Inf._**


	14. Three Days In

_**[A/N] As you know, the cover for this fanfiction is Luke, and not Kirsten. I'm sorry. BUT IT WILL BE KIRSTEN. One of my good friend from school, lullalay, which you can find her on here and on Deviantart, is currently drawing me a cover. **_

_**Links to her social media: [Deviantart] [Fanfiction] u/5833546/lullalay**_

_**Enjoy the chapter!**_

* * *

It's been three days since we left the cabin. Everyone was getting tired of walking, and that resulted in Rebecca getting more angry at everything even more. Yesterday, she snapped at me for coughing when she was trying to sleep. I held back from getting angry at her because I had no idea what she would be going through with a baby in her stomach, so I try my best to calm her down.

We've been walking for four hours since we woke up. Luke and I are at the back of the group, Carlos and Alvin are leading and Rebecca, Sarah and Clementine are chatting in front of us.

"Did you mean what you said to me two nights ago?" I ask Luke, my face with a concerned look as I shift my head up to him.

His eyes widen and he starts to get scared. "...Wh-what did I say?"

"Well, you were drunk.." I mutter, kicking a little rock in the path and looking down.

He scratches the back of his head. "Did I fuck up?"

"What? No..." I say, looking up at him, shaking my head with a raised eyebrow.

There's silence for a minute, I'm guessing that he's trying to think about all the things he said.

"You told me you loved me." I say, grabbing his hand and shifting my head up to him. His eyes widen and he looks at me.

"I did?" He asks nervously. I give him a nod and he looks back to the ground. "Well, I meant it, Kirst. I really did." He says, wrapping his arm around my shoulders.

"Good, because I meant it to."

* * *

"Shh, do you hear that?" I hear someone whisper.

Moans and gurgles come out from the bushes, the whole group huddles together, back to back.

"Get'cha weapons out." Luke whispers.

I pull out my knife from my knife holster and hold it beside me. I watch the tree line very carefully for any movement, until I feel my arm get grabbed. I yank it out of whatever hand that grabbed me and pull my knife up, just as I'm about to kill whatever it was, I realized that it was Luke.

"Woah, woah!" Luke hisses.

I lower my knife and scowl at him. "Jesus Christ, Luke! I thought you were a fucking walker!"

"Well, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare ya. Are you okay?" He says, putting his hand on his chest taking deep breaths.

"Luke, I'm fine." I say, sighing of relief.

He places a hand on my shoulder and looks straight at me. "Alright, good. It's just...- Holy shit... We gotta go!"

"Wait- Luke, what?" I turn around as Luke pulls me along to see a herd or walkers coming our way. "Holy shit! Guys, run! Now!" I shout, alerting the group.

As we all run, Sarah trips over a rock, falling down in front of me.

"Sarah!" Carlos yells in concern.

I rush over to her a little more and pick her up onto her feet.

"I got her, Carlos!" I shout, picking her up a little more. "Let's go, Sarah." I yelp, dragging her along.

She runs forward and grabs Carlos' hand.

* * *

We've been running for twenty minutes, now. All of us stop to look behind us, thankfully, the herd has seemed to disappear.

"Alright, let's find a clearing and set up camp." Carlos says, clutching onto Sarah.

We all nod in agreement and look for a clear spot to set up camp. Luke, Nick, Clementine and I roam off into one part of the forest while the others in another.

"How ya holdin' up, Clem?" Luke asks with a playful yet exhausted smile.

She looks over to him, too tired to even reply and looks straight forward.

"Alright.. then?" He uncomfortably responds.

As we're looking around, I rest my head on Luke's shoulder. "God.. I'm so tired." I mutter, barely keeping my eyelids open.

"Me too, Kirst." He says, giving me a peck on the forehead. Nick's too tired to even say anything, until he hears the sound of rushing water.

"You guys hear that?" He asks in a mopey voice. "Sounds like water."

We all stop for a minute and go silent.

"Yeah, it does." Clementine says, getting a little excited. We all brush through the bushes and trees until we stumble across the rest of the group, standing by a lake.

"Holy shit..." Luke mutters in amazement.

We walk over to the group with our jaws dropped.

Rebecca smiles and rubs her stomach. "Isn't it beautiful?" She says, looking up at us. We all nod, still in awe about the sight. "There's even a little area by the waterfall with big rocks surrounding it, so we can sleep there with no interruptions and no noise."

The lake glimmers in the moonlight as I run my fingers across the water.

"The water isn't even that cold, either. It's warm." I say standing up and turning around to the group. "We could jump in to wake ourselves up a bit more. And more importantly, wash up." I suggest, placing a hand on my hip.

"Good idea," Sarah says. "Maybe we could play in there, too!"

Carlos looks over to Sarah.

"If.. we have time?" Sarah continues with a smile.

"Let's go set up camp first, before we get in." I say, grabbing some stuff and moving over to the area, surrounded by huge rocks.

As I place down the last sleeping bag, Rebecca, Sarah and Clementine grab some towels and head to the lake. It was pretty safe for them to go on there own. There was only one way to get into that area, and it's the way we came. Which was barely even noticeable, since we covered it up with branches. So, there was only about a five percent chance anyone would enter.

I try to make a fire, but I couldn't find the lighter.

"Nick, do you know where the lighter is?" I ask, looking through the blue backpack.

He looks over to me while sitting on his sleeping back and folding his arms up against the rock. He points at Clementine's pink backpack. "It's in Clem's."

"Ah, thanks." I say, zipping up the blue backpack and shuffling across to Clementine's.

"So, have you and Luke done it yet?" Nick says with a chuckle.

I look over to Nick in confusion. "What?"

"Well, ya know, since you guys are a couple... I'd assume you both have done it." Nick says, looking awkwardly away with a devilish smirk.

I glare at Nick as I flip the lighter open. "No, we haven't _'done it' _yet."

"Why not?" Nick asks, standing up from his sleeping bag.

"Because.." I start, lighting the bit of paper to get the fire going. "I don't want to risk bringing a baby into this world."

Nick's eyes widen. "Since when were you gonna get pregnant?" He asks.

"Luke said the same thing." I laugh a little.

"Really?"

"Yeah, when he was _drunk_." I say, putting Nick to shame a little.

He scratches the back of his head. "And your answer?"

"The reproductive system." I say, in a serious yet sarcastic tone.

"Oh, right." He says, pulling out the last jar of moonshine from the backpack.

I look over to Nick as he walks back to his sleeping bag, sits down, and opens the lid. "Really, Nick? You're just about to go into a lake and you want to drink?"

Nick sakes a drink out of the jar and plumps it back down. "Hey, whoever said I was going in the lake?"

"Me, because you smell like shit." Luke jumps in, entering secluded area.

Nick laughs a little. "Only if you hold my hand." He says, sarcastically.

"Fuck no, that's gay." Luke retorts.

The alcohol is really kicking into Nick. "What's wrong with being gay?"

"Nothin'. I just don't swing that way, and you don't either. Now get in the goddamn lake, Nick." Luke hisses in a playful manner.

"Alright, alright." Nick says, as he tries to stand up.

Clementine, Rebecca and Sarah come back from the lake with wet hair. Alvin, Carlos and Nick walk to the lake, leaving Luke and I last to go in after them.

"That was _sooo _fun!" Sarah giggles in excitement.

"We should be getting some rest, we got a long day tomorrow." Rebecca alerts the two girls.

All three of them make it to their sleeping bags, get inside of them and fall asleep.

Luke sits down next to me by the fire. Placing his arm around my back as I rest my head on his shoulder.

"We goin' in together?" He asks, grinning.

"Of course, you idiot. You think I wanna be in there alone?" I retort, looking into the fire.

He smirks and looks at me. "You think I don't know the real reason?"

_'Damnit.'_

"What real reason?" I ask sarcastically.

"You know." He says, smiling. I look up to face him and stare into his eyes. They shine in the fire's light, making me uncontrollably have to urge to just pounce on top of him and kiss him. Resisting the urge, mainly because Alvin, Nick and Carlos were coming back, I stand up and grab a towel.

I hold out my hand and Luke grabs on, pulling him up from the ground. As the three enter the area, Luke begins to talk to them.

"Now, since this place is pretty hidden, no one needs to keep watch. So get a good nights rest, okay? Y'all need it." He says, grabbing my hand and pulling me to the exit of the area. All three of the nod, and walk over to the sleeping bags.

Me and Luke exit the area and walk up to the lake.

"I wonder if the water is still warm." I say, looking up at Luke with a towel over my shoulder.

"Might be a little colder, but we should be able to deal." Luke responds, holding onto my hand. "I just can't believe we found this place. Can you imagine a full nights rest with no interruptions?"

I shake my head. "I can't imagine it." I say, as we come to a stop by the lake, and I throw the towel on the floor. "But, I'm grateful for it." I say, smiling as I pull off my t-shirt.

I take off my gray shirt underneath and chuck it on the floor, next to my towel. I slip my shoes off and pull down my jeans, turning around, I see Luke jump into the water. I turn my head to avoid getting any water on my face, but it doesn't work.

"Oh, you are _so_ dead!" I hiss, quickly taking off the rest of my clothes. Just as I'm about to jump in, I realize that my hair was still tied up.

I stop myself, on the edge of my toes, and walk back a little. Pulling out my hair tie and flinging it at my clothes. I run my fingers through my hair, pushing my fringe back.

I walk back a little, and run straight into the lake. As I come up from the water, I freeze.

"It-t-t i-it's s-s-so c-c-ol-d..." I mutter, trying to make the words come out. I accidentally jumped too far, into the cold area of the lake which was covered by tall trees.

Luke laughs as he grabs me by the waist and brings me up to the warmer area.

"Better?" He asks.

I stop shivering and feel a release of warmth on my body. "Better." I say, letting out a sigh of relief.

After a couple of minutes of washing up, I turn over to Luke who begins to speak.

"Hey, Kirst? Remember when we first met?" He asks me and I give him a small nod. "You know when I first saw ya, I was scared shitless."

I raise an eyebrow at him with a little giggle. "Why? You were the one with the gun."

"I know, but I just thought that seeing a pretty girl by herself wasn't an accident. I thought that you were just a decoy, and that your group would have the jump on me any second." He spits out, smiling.

I let out a huge laugh. "Oh my god, you actually thought that?" I ask, he gives me a nod. "Are you scared now?"

"Nope." He replies, grabbing my by the waist and bringing me closer to him.

Face to face, I rest my arms on him shoulders. Staring into his eyes, I whisper. "I love you, Luke."

Silence drew across the terrain as we both kissed. My heart, pounding at the feel of his lips against mine. He holds onto me like glue, like he was scared to let go. But I wouldn't blame him, I was doing the same. I pull away from the kiss, even though I didn't want to, it seemed right, my forehead leaning against his.

"I love you too, Kirsten." He says, staring into my eyes. I can't help but kiss him again, he's lips are just so sweet, and his eyes are hypnotic. Making me uncontrollably feel the need to keep kissing him, and kissing him.

We both pull away from the kiss, I rest my head against the curve of his shoulder and neck.

"We should get out." I say, removing myself from Luke and standing out of the water. Luke does the same and I throw him a towel.

* * *

After getting dressed, me and Luke walk back up to the area where the sleeping bags where. Ours was in the far corner, quite away from the others. As we walk in, everyone was asleep.

Rebecca fell asleep in Alvin's arms, Clementine was huddled up in a blanket, Sarah was clutched in Carlos' arms, Nick was sleeping peacefully, snoring like a goddamn walrus at the same time, and Luke walked over to the sleeping bag and plumped down. I walk over to him, laying down next to him.

"Should we do this thing now?" He asks, as I rest my head on his chest.

I knew what he meant. "Sure, let's do it. We might not be able to in the future, so why not do it now?" I agree, kicking off my shoes.

_I'm sure you know what happens next. _

* * *

**_[A/N] WELP. You know what's happening. ;) Hope you enjoyed the chapter! I know you guys were waiting for something like this._**

**_A review, follow and favourite is much appreciated!_**

**_-Inf._**


	15. I Nearly Lost You

_**[A/N] Hope you enjoy the chapter!**_

* * *

I open my eyes slowly, blinking away the blurr. No one is awake as I sit up from my sleeping bag, but I feel a coldness run through my chest. Suddenly, an arm grabs my from across my chest and brings me back down to the sleeping bag, covering the sheets over me.

"Kirst, I dunno if you know, but you kinda have no clothes on right now." Luke whispers.

I look under the sheets to see my bare body. "Holy shit." I hiss, grabbing my clothes and dragging them under the sheets and putting them on.

Luke lets out a laugh as I put my shirt on. I recall the events of last night in my head as I look over to Luke with a smile. Once I'm fully dressed, I stand up from the sheets and put my shoes on.

"Um, Kirst?" Luke asks, leaning on his arm trying not to laugh. I peek over to him, and he points to my jeans. "You got ya jeans on backwards."

"Goddamnit."

I take off my shoes and go back under the sheets, taking off my jeans and putting them on the right way.

"Thank god no one's awake." I pull the sheets off me, and stand up.

Luke gives me a nod as he pulls the sheets off him. He must've gotten dressed when I was asleep because he sat up fully clothed. He walks over to Nick and kicks him a little to wake him up. "Wake up, asshole."

Nick smacks his hand in the air and rolls over with a moan. "Couple more minutes..."

"No, we're nearly at the mountains." Luke kicks him again, this time pulling the sheets off him.

Nick shoots up from his sleeping bag and glares at Luke as he walks over to Alvin. "Fine, I'm up you asshole." Nick rubs his eyes and looks over to me, sitting on the sleeping bag with a small smile. I'll admit it, I was thinking about last night. But who wouldn't, right? "You starin' into shit, Kirst?"

"Huh, what?" I shake my head and look up at Nick.

Nick stands up from his sleeping bag and scoffs. "You drunk or somethin'?"

I look up at him confused, standing up from my sleeping bag. "No? Are you?"

"Luke, I swear to god. Kick me again and I'll bite off your foot." Alvin hisses in a playful tone. Luke steps back a little holding his hands up in surrender while giving a little smile.

Rebecca sits up from her sleeping bag and rubs her eyes, looking over to Alvin. "Alvin, get up."

Alvin sits up slowly and grabs his glasses from the pebbled ground.

I looked over to Sarah as I rolled up my sleeping bag and see her eyes shoot open. Wiggling out of the sleeping bag, she turns around and shakes her dad.

"Dad, wake up! Today we make it to the mountains!" Sarah shouts, obviously loud enough because Clementine woke up.

She rubs her eyes as she sits up. "Ugghhh, who's shouting?" Clementine looks over at Sarah shaking her dad. "Oh.."

"I'm gonna go splash my face with water to wake me up." I stand up from the ground after putting my sleeping bag in the backpack.

* * *

The forceful feel of cold water on my face wakes up my senses. I grab the towel next to me and wipe my face, standing up and turning around, I take the towel away from my face to see Clementine's face.

"Holy shit, you scared me Clem." I step back a little.

Her facial expression mopes a little. She looked very tired, like she didn't get any rest.

"...What's wrong, Clem?" I ask, bending down to her level and placing a hand on her shoulder.

"I couldn't get any sleep. I don't know why, I just kept hearing voices." Clementine tucks her hands in front of her.

My eyes widen, and I look up at her. "What kind of voices?"

"Voices in my head, voices of Lee, Christa, Omid, everyone." She looks down at me and her eyes get a little red.

I feel so bad for her, she had to go through all that shit just to survive. Fuck... I'm grateful that Lee was there for her.

"Hey, it's okay. You know they loved you very much. Go throw some water on your face, you need it." I stand up, patting her on the back as she walks to the lake.

By the time I got back, everyone had packed up. Carlos was talking to Rebecca and Alvin, Nick and Luke were having a chat, and Clementine had just came back as I watched Sarah run up to her.

"Okay, we ready to hit the road?" I ask the group, grabbing the last backpack.

Some of them nod, and some of them give a "yes" in a variation of responses.

"Alright, let's get going."

* * *

Everyone had slowed down from walking for so long. It had been eleven hours since we left the lake, and we just made it to an area with rocks, clear space, and a bridge.

Everyone sat down for a bit while Luke pulled out the map, skimming through it as Clementine climbed one of the boulders and used her binoculars to see around.

"See anything?" Luke looks up from the map.

"She better see somethin'. We've been walking for a damn week." Alvin adds.

Clementine looks around for a little before seeing something. "There's a lift or something."

"Chair lift?" I ask, squinting my eyes into the distance.

Luke looks up from the map. "Must be that ski resort."

"I've never been skiing..." Clementine lowers the binoculars.

Alvin looks over to Rebecca. "Bec and I went once."

"It was pretty!" Rebecca chuckles.

Clementine looks back into the binoculars. "There's a building on the mountain."

"What's it look like?" Luke asks.

"It's big." She responds.

Luke looks at me, then over to Rebecca. "That looks like a good place to stay the night." I nod in agreement, as Rebecca sighs in relief.

"There's a little house by the bridge."

"How big is it?" Carlos asks. What the hell kind of question is that?

"It's pretty small." Clementine replies. "There's the bridge."

Luke looks up from the map. "And does it look passable?"

"I think so." She mutters.

"Good. I say we can reach the ski lodge in about twenty to thirty minutes." I look around at the group.

Clementine puts the binoculars back into her backpack and jumps down from the boulder.

"We have to cross that bridge. Let's go." Carlos informs the group, crossing his arms.

Luke and I turn around to him and I fold my arms with a raised eyebrow.

"Hold on now. We can't all go sprinting across that thing, okay? If we get spotted out there, we're gonna be trapped." Luke argues.

Carlos points toward the lake. "Going around that lake will take too long."

"Right, but... look, we've got no idea who's out there. Okay, I'm gonna sneak across and make sure it's clear before we bring the whole group over." Luke alerts Carlos.

"You think splitting up the group is a good idea?" Carlos asks in concern.

Luke shrugs his shoulders. "I never said it was a _good _idea. But it's better than riskin' everyone at once."

"What's your plan?" Alvin asks.

Luke looks over to me, and back to Alvin. "Kirst and I can scoot across low and slow and make sure nobody's waitin' for us on the other side."

"We'll have a tough time coverin' you from back here." Alvin points to the ground.

"Well, we'll just turn back if it gets hairy." Luke says, looking back at the bridge.

Nick stands up from the rock he was sitting in, holding his rifle. "I can go too."

"You stay with the group." Luke gives a nod.

Nick sighs, throwing his hand around. "I'm fine, Luke."

"I don't like this." Carlos spits out.

Luke turns around and begins to walk. "Yeah, well, when's the last time you liked anything, Carlos?"

"If somethin' happens, I'll cover you." Nick says, still trying to plead with Luke to go.

"Come on." Luke says, as he stops beside me before we walk.

* * *

"Hey, uh, sorry about that. I just could really use your eyes, and right now I don't trust Nick to tie his own shoes." Luke informs me, looking back the group as we walk.

"It's alright, I get what you mean. I just don't get why Carver would still be following us, it's been five days." I ask, confused. I mean, why would he want us back there so badly?

Luke sighs and turns to look at me. "What's the most important thing in this world? What does everyone want?"

I think for a minute before looking up to him and replying. "I'm gonna have to go with 'no walkers'?"

"We all want that, yeah. But because we can't get rid of them all, what else would we want?" Luke gestures his hand.

I look down to the floor beneath me. "Family." Luke nods.

"It's a tough world out there without people you can trust." Luke sighs for a moment. "Carver thinks it's his. Which is might be, but I sure as hell hope not."

I understand what he meant. I can't imagine the guilt running through Rebecca's mind. Especially how Alvin doesn't know... "I hope not, too."

Luke grabs onto my hand and gives me a small smile, but as we make it to the bridge he quickly lets go.

Two walkers. One sitting down, the other standing.

"We can't shoot 'em. Too much noise. There's only two..." Luke states the obvious out loud.

I look up at him with a devilish grin. "Let's take 'em."

"I like your style." Luke and I walk forward a bit more, and crouch behind a rock. "I'll take the big one, you get shorty."

I look at him and raise an eyebrow. "Got it. I got the small one."

Luke and I both stand up, Luke removes his machete from it's holster and sneaks up to the walker facing towards the bridge, standing. I pull out my knife and walk up to the walker that's sitting down and leaning against a rock. I throw my hand up into the air and shove it down into the walkers head. Dark-reddish blood oozing from the wound. Luke slices the walkers head in half in one swing.

"You okay, Kirst?" He asks, walking over to me.

I pull my knife out of the walkers head, blood splattering on me. "Yeah, just fine."

"Alright, let's go." He says, softly holding my hand.

We slowly walk forward on the bridge, walking along the steel so the wood doesn't cave in. We look forward to see two walkers, one sitting down and the other one on the ground. They both stand up and start to make their way towards us. I look behind me to see just one more walker starting to walk towards us, making me back into Luke.

Luke walks in front of me and pulls out his machete, ready to kill the walker that was originally behind me. I pull out my knife as I watch Luke walk up to the walker, but as he does, the wood caves in. Taking Luke and the walker with them.

"Luke!" I yell out as the wood caves in a bit more, and he catches himself on two beams.

He spins himself around, leaning on his back, supporting himself with his leg on the other beam.

"Kirst! I'm okay, I just... I'm stuck." He yells back at me.

I try to reach my hand out so he could grab on, but we're too far apart. "I can't reach you, Luke!"

"It's okay. Kirst, look, we'll figure somethin' out." He says, trying to make sure the walker on the platform does get him. Luke looks up at me with a face of fear. "Behind you!"

I look to the side of me to see two walkers coming towards me, "Oh fuck..." I hiss, while I stand up.

I look around to see a hammer on the steel edging of the bridge. I run towards it and grab it quickly. The first walker walks up to me, swinging it's hand in the air. I thrust the hammer into it's knee, making it fall to the ground. I go to smash it in the head, but it gets caught in the walkers jaw, as I keep pulling it out, I can hear the walker hissing at me. Giving me chills all through my body.

I finally yank it out of it's jaw, falling back a little and trying to keep my balance on the steel edging of the bridge, so I didn't fall fifty feet into the water. As I try to keep my balance, the walker stands up and lunges towards me. I dive to the left of me, grabbing one of the poles as I let go of the hammer. It goes flying into the water with the walker that just lunged towards me.

I try to pick myself up and get onto the bridge flooring again, but the other walker comes charging towards me. I crawl down a little, slipping and losing my grip. I quickly grab onto the pole again, just further down it.

Luke can see my legs kicking around from down where he is. "Kirsten!" He shouts.

"I'm alright!" I shout back, only holding onto the bottom of the pole with my arms, I scoot across it and put my leg up onto the edging. The walker comes pushing towards me as I get myself back up. I jump out of the way and onto the bridge floor again. I see Luke's machete on the ground, and I run over and pick it up. Shoving it in the walkers mouth, it didn't go through enough. So I forcefully push it through a bit more and the walker falls to the ground.

I grab the steel pole on the ground and run over to Luke. I lay down on my stomach and put the pole over the flooring, into the hole that broke through. I smack the walker over the head with it twice, but it's still alive. I hit it a third time and kill it, making it fall into the water.

I hand Luke the pole and he puts it in the middle of the two beams, using it as a platform to stand on and lift himself up. Luke grabs a hold of the railing and pulls himself up. I give him a hand, and as soon as he's on his feet, I give him a huge hug.

"It's alright, I'm okay." He says, releasing from the hug and bending down, trying to regain his breath.

I rub my face with my hands and look down at him. "Jesus Christ, Luke. I thought I lost you..."

"You didn't," He says, finally regaining his breath. "I'm still here." He gives me a hug and pecks me on the lips.

"Thank you for saving me, though. Didn't know you were that much of a badass." He says, smiling, as he releases from the hug.

I give a little laugh and he looks towards the end of the bridge.

"Alright, let's keep going."

* * *

_**[A/N] WELL. That was a fun chapter! HAHAHHA, okay, no. Hope you enjoyed it! A review, follow and favourite is much appreciated!**_


	16. Clem's Old Friend

**_[A/N] I hope you enjoy this chapter! _**

* * *

"You see him?" Luke asks me, stopping me from walking by putting his hand on my chest.

I nod. "Yeah, I see him."

"Alright, play it cool. And you do the talking." He says, still batting his eyes at the guy walking towards us with a rifle.

I look up at him like he's completely stupid. "The hell? Why do I have to talk?"

"'Cause I don't wanna get in a fight. And you really think he'd shoot a pretty girl like you?" He looks over to me with a smirk.

I raise an eyebrow at him. "Hey, if I had the chance, I'd shoot me."

"Naw, don't say that, Kirst. Just ask him for directions or something." Luke says, placing his hand on his gun, incase this guy was going to shoot us.

The man stops walking. "Well, who are you?" He says, keeping a far distance between us.

"Well, who's askin'?" Luke hisses.

"I am." The man hisses back.

I whisper to him. "Hey idiot, I thought I was gonna do the talking?"

"Oh, right. Sorry." Luke says with a slight smile.

I look back at the man, still holding his rifle. "We're lost, could you help us?"

"Lost, huh?" The man smirks, as he walks up closer to us. He's wearing a gray and black hoodie, with brown pants. He seems to be from an asian descent, and his voice was pretty average. "Huh. You don't look like assholes. Are you assholes? No offense or anything, but you know how it is out here."

I smirk. "I'm not an asshole."

Luke looks over to me with a sarcastically offended tone. "Are you calling ME an asshole?"

I look up at him and give him an evil smirk, while the man laughs a little.

"You folks headed north like everyone else?" The man asks, walking closer towards us.

Luke's face turns from bravery to confusion. "Everyone else?"

"I see at least one group a day move through here. You all look the same. It's like a great migration of the dazed and confused." He says, looking back at the little shack behind him.

"Do you know Carver?" I ask.

"Carver? Like George Washington Carver? The peanut guy?" He asks in a funny manner.

"What? No, he's a man."

He scratches the back of his head. "Never heard of him. But now I feel like some peanut butter."

Luke and I smile at the man.

"I gotta say, you two look like shit. If you need food, I've got some canned stuff in that station back there." The man says, gesturing his gun behind him.

"Well, that's uh... awful nice of you. What's the catch?" Luke asks suspiciously, placing his hands on his hips.

The man's eyes widen. "No catch. I've got plenty."

"Well alright then. Thank you." Luke says with a smile.

The man smiles back. "Hey, no problem. Nice running into friendly faces out here. Like I said, I've got food and supplies back in the station. And if you... want...-" The mans face turns from utter confusion to fear as he lines up the shot behind us. "What the fuck man?" The guy asks as we look behind us.

"Now what the hell is he doin'?" Luke asks in annoyance.

Nick comes bolting up with his rifle and lines the shot up, pointing it at the man.

We turn around to see the man with his gun up.

"No, no, no, no! He's wi- he's with us!" Luke says with his arms up in the arm as surrender. "Nick! No!" Luke yells out as he waves his hands in the air, facing Nick.

"Put it down!" The man calls out.

I face towards the man and try to grab his gun, but before I could, Luke grabs me and shields over me, huddling on the floor.

_**BANG!**_

We hear a gunshot. We slowly look up to see the man stumbling across the bridge with a bullet in his neck. He trips over the railing and falls into the water... fifty feet under the bridge...

Me and Luke rush over to the edging to see if the man was okay, but the water was too dark. He had sunk underneath.

Luke angrily walks up to Nick as Nick walks up to us.

"Did I hit him? Where is he?" Nick asks in fear.

Luke stops in front of Nick. "I told you not to shoot!"

"What?! Who was that guy?!" Nick asks, wide eyed.

"Why didn't you wait for a signal?" Luke hisses, pointing at Nick.

Nick shouts in confusion. "We thought you were in trouble. You were wavin' your arms!"

"Nick, he was going to help us..." I mutter, looking up at Nick.

Nick puts his rifle by his side. "How do you know?"

Luke throws his fists in a fit of anger. "Damnit, Nick. I told you _not _to shoot!"

"How was I supposed to hear you? You gave me a clear shot!" Nick hisses.

Luke looks around him. "That shot rang out for miles. We gotta get off this bride, let's go." Luke says, signalling the others to come forward.

* * *

As we make it to the end of the bridge, the station was a couple meters away from us. Some of the group sat down, while the others stood.

"Who the fuck... was that back there?" Rebecca asks, taking a breath as she sat down.

Luke shakes his head at Rebecca. "I don't know."

Alvin shrugs his arms. "Looked like he had a gun on you."

"That asshole drew on me! He was about to shoot." Nick says, trying to plead his case.

Luke turns around to Nick with an angry expression. "Oh, what he?"

"I'm tellin' ya, man. He drew first!" Nick says, waving one of his arms across his body.

"Well that's not what it looked like to me." Luke says, folding his arms.

I step forward. "Everyone calm down, okay? What happened, happened."

"He could have been lying." Clementine suggests. I nod in agreement.

"What did you see, Kirsten? Was that guy gonna shoot?" Alvin asks me.

I sigh, rubbing my hands over my face. "He wasn't going to shoot me and Luke, but he might've shot Nick."

"Fuck you, Luke. You've been on my case the whole week!" Nick scowls at him.

Luke looks to me and back at Nick while he retorts. "And why do you think that is, Nick?"

"I told you both to calm down. There's nothing we can do, arguing is pointless!" I hiss at the both of them.

Luke sighs, pointing to me. "Either way, you coulda hit one of us!"

"Yeah, but I didn't!"

Luke looks at Nick in a concerned way. "Look, I... I know Pete was close to you Nick, but you can't-"

"Don't fucking talk about him." Nick hisses.

Carlos breaks the argument. "Do you think he was with Carver?"

"No, he wasn't. I asked, but he didn't know who he was." I reply.

"We have to keep moving." Carlos demands.

"I can't..." Rebecca grasps her stomach. "I need a minute."

"Fine." Carlos replies, looking over a Nick in a concerned way. "Luke, can I talk to you alone?"

Both Luke and Carlos stand aside. Nick walks over to the station to sit in the chair just outside the door.

"Hey, Clem. You got anything to eat? Bec's dyin' here." Alvin asks, with his hands in his pockets.

Rebecca holds her hand up. "Alvin, I told you. I'm fine."

"Sorry, I'm out." She shrugs.

Alvin looks over to Clementine. "Wish we still had those juice boxes."

"Yeah, me too." A tired Sarah adds in.

I look over to them in awe. "Wait, there were juice boxes?"

"Yeah, you didn't know?" Rebecca asks.

"I had no idea... Damn. Now I feel like some juice boxes." I say, raising a hand on my hip. "Wait, that man said he had food in the station. Clem, wanna go check it out?"

She gives me a smile. "Sure." And walks over to the station.

Alvin sits back down to attend to Rebecca, and I walk over to Nick.

"Hey Nick, you okay?" I ask, sitting beside him.

He has his head buried into his hand. He looks up and me and sets his hand in front of him.

"I just shot a guy..." He mutters.

I place my hand on his back and his him a little pat. "Hey, you were trying to protect us. It's not your fault."

"Thanks, Kirsten." He says with a moped smile. "I'm sure they're talkin' about me right now." He says, looking over to Carlos and Luke. "_Luke, he is becoming a danger to the group!_" He imitates Carlos in a weird accent.

I give a little laugh as I take my hand away from his back.

"So who was that guy?" He asks, shrugging his shoulders. "I swear, it looked like he was holdin' you guys up. I figured he was with Carver."

"I don't know who he was, but he was offering us food. Clementine went inside the station to check it out." I say pointing towards the station.

He looks off to the side. "Damn..." with a saddened expression. "If Alvin is in front of me, he takes that shot... What a fuckin' mess." Nick looks up at me with a concerned face. "Maybe I am losing it. I don't know anymore... God, I'm hungry. What time is it, anyway?" Nick looks at his wrist to find nothing. He slams his fist on the chair. "Damn. Damn!"

"What's wrong?" I ask, moving my leg a little, just in case he hit me by accident.

"I left my watch back at the cabin It was Pete's, he gave it to me..." Nick rubs his face with his hands.

My eyes widen. "I saw a watch in Clementine's backpack. Maybe she found it when she was getting her stuff?"

"What? Really?" Nick says in relief. "Thank you, I'll go get it off her... Thank you, Kirsten."

I give him a smile as he stands up. "All good, Nick." I say as he walks into the station.

I stand up from the chair, releasing a breath and walk over to where Alvin, Rebecca and Sarah are sitting.

I sit down next to Sarah and cross my legs. "Hey, Sarah. How you holding up?"

"Okay, I guess... I'm so tired from walking for so long." Sarah wipes her forehead with her sleeve. "And it's getting cold, too. The clouds are looking gray and gloomy..."

I look up to the sky and back down at Sarah. "Yeah, it does seem a little gray."

I hear a ton groans and gurgles coming from behind me. I turn around to see a small herd coming from the bridge. "Holy shit..." I say as I quickly stand up and grab Sarah. "Come on, we gotta get the others out of the station.

Luke, Carlos, Alvin and Rebecca jump to there feet and run towards the station. The door swings open, Nick and Clementine come running out.

"We gotta go." Nick says.

Luke walks up to the both of them. "Yeah, we saw it. Alright, we're headin' up." Luke gestures his hand to the mountain.

We all begin to run up the mountain, the moans and gurgles becoming distant.

* * *

Reaching the top of the mountain, we make it to the ski lodge. Nick and Carlos are at the entrance, looking around for any potential threats. Rebecca is slowly making her way up, panting from walking.

"Well? What are we waitin' for?" Rebecca asks.

Carlos turns his head towards Rebecca and Alvin. "We have to be careful."

"Careful?" Rebecca asks in a motionless tone. "We've been on the road for five days. My back is done bein' careful." She says, panting as she rests her hands on her hips.

As the whole group finally makes there way to the deck of the ski lodge, Nick is keeping guard, Luke is trying to catch his breath, Rebecca is sitting down with Sarah, Alvin is trying to find a way in, Clementine is just standing there, confused, and I'm looking out on the tree line for any walkers or people.

"Damn. Nailed down tight." Alvin gasps as he tries to pull the the boards off the windows. "I'll check around front."

"I'll go with you." Carlos says, making his way to the front of the lodge.

Clementine and I walk over to the railing and lean on it, having a view of the landscape.

A few seconds later, Luke comes up behind us making a good suggestion.

"Well, it'd be good to know if anybody's actually back there." He says, leaning on the railing next to me. "Could probably get a better view from up top." He says, looking over at Clementine, then to the chair lift station. "You'd have an easier time gettin' up there. You, feel like takin' a look?"

Clementine looks up the chairlift station, and back to Luke.

"It'd be just like climbing a tree house. A really... tall treehouse." He says, awkwardly scratching the back of his head.

She looks down to the ground under the deck. "I had a treehouse once."

"Well, there ya go."

She shakes her head. "I hated it."

"Oh..." Luke mutters. "Anyway, come on. Let's go."

The three of us walk over to the station, I look up at the ladder and shudder a little.

"What's wrong, Kirst?" Luke asks, looking at me confused.

I look up at the ladder again. "Heights."

"Ah, heights. Would be a shame if I threw you up there, huh?" Luke says with a devilish grin.

"Would be a shame if you weren't as weak to lift me up." I say, with a smile as I lift my shoulder up to my face and squint my eyes.

Luke gives a little laugh before he looks back at Clementine. "Just take it slow, and I'll catch you if you fall. Probably."

She looks over to me with fear.

"Don't worry, Clementine. I'll make sure he catches you." I say, elbowing Luke.

Clementine grabs hold of the ladder and starts to climb.

"Got a good grip?" Luke asks her.

"Yeah." She says as she continues to climb.

"When I was a kid, we used to just rooftops downtown. Now that was fun." Luke says, smiling.

Clementine makes a weird face at him. "That sounds stupid."

"Yeah, yeah, it was." He replies, scratching the back of his head. "The trick was to not look down, though."

As Clementine is climbing the ladder, her foot slips and she slides down a little.

"Ahhh!" She yelps.

Luke and I rush a bit more forward towards the ladder and hold out our hands. "Woah, woah, woah. You're fine. Just look at me, okay? You're fine." Luke says in a panic.

Clementine looks down at Luke and smiles. "You look like an idiot."

I can't help but giggle a little. "I agree." I say with a smirk.

"Just keep going!" He hisses.

As Clementine makes it to the top, she looks over at the view. "Made it." She says, as she lifts the binoculars up to her face.

"See anythin'?" Luke yells.

"I can see the bridge!" She shouts back. "Wait, I see something!"

Luke looks at me with concern. "What is it?"

"A light. But wait, there's another." She shouts. "Luke?"

I turn around to see Luke run towards to deck. I look back up the ladder. "Clem, come down. I'll meet you over there."

I run towards the deck and brush past the group. Making it to the front, I see a man in about his late forties, wearing a green jacket and a cap. I then see a woman, which she looks about in her mid to late thirties, and a bald guy with a red jumper on and jeans.

The man with the green jacket is holding a gun. He looks awfully familiar too, but I can't put my finger on it.

After a series of arguing, Clementine brushes through the group and in front of me. Her face lights up like a candle as he stares at the guy with the gun.

"Kenny?!" She gasps in awe.

Wait, 'Kenny'?

The man known as Kenny lowers his gun and looks straight at her. "Clementine...?"

Clementine runs up to him and hugs him, resulting in him hugging her back.

"Kenny... I've heard that name before... And this guy does look really familiar..." I say to Luke.

"These people with you?" Kenny asks Clementine. She gives him a nod as her smile is from ear to ear. "We can talk inside." He says, pointing towards the lodge.

"Great, I just started dinner." The other man points out.

Carlos looks to Sarah in concern. "Are you sure you don't mind?"

"It's gonna storm soon. Please, come in." He says in a kind way.

As we all begin to walk, Clementine walks up next to Kenny. The whole time I can just see them smiling at eachother.

* * *

_**[A/N] OOOH, according to Kirsten, Kenny seems familiar to her... Will she finally come to realize who he is? Be sure to read the next chapter! **_

_**A review, follow and favourite is much appreciated!**_

_**-Inf.**_


	17. Nostalgia

**_[A/N] Hey! Sorry I haven't updated in a couple days, I'm working on a new fanfiction along with this one! It's called 'Teenaged Years' and it's an AU fanfiction about The Walking Dead Game and characters in high school! (Sorry Pikacheeks, ily) _**

**_If you guys love Kirsten (My main OC) so much, that fanfiction is really something for you to read! It's based on Kirsten surviving high school with heaps of plot twists on the way!_**

**_Anyway, Enjoy the chapter!_**

* * *

As the most of the group walked into the ski lodge, our jaws dropped down to our knees. It was so amazing, it had Christmas lights, a Christmas tree, a huge fireplace, classical music playing and just about everything else you'd see in a five star ski lodge.

"Please, make yourselves at home." The man greets, standing on top of the stairs with Kenny. "You can leave your things over there." He points to the bench with a smile.

Rebecca's face was drawn over with an unpleased expression. "The hell we will."

"Yeah, I'm holding onto my rifle, thanks." Nick implies.

The man looked saddened. "You're our guests here. There's no need to worry."

"Tell him to put his gun down, then." Nick asks, pointing his head to Kenny.

The man looks over to Kenny. "Kenny?" Implying to put his gun down.

"Will you vouch for these people, Clem?" Kenny asks, looking over at Clementine. He's obviously got a ton of trust in her if he's asking her that. "If you tell me they're good, then I'm goo-"

"Us? You were the one wavin' a gun around, man." Nick points out.

"We're cool, okay? Hey, hey, we're cool, we're cool." Luke jumps in, trying to calm the situation down.

Clementine looks at us, then back to Kenny. "They're cool."

Kenny eyes the group a little before Carlos, Sarah and the woman came inside.

"Dad, look! A Christmas tree!" Sarah says in awe, as she goes to walk to it.

Carlos grabs her by the shoulder. "Not now, Sarah."

"Isn't it great?" The woman asks, her accent sounded Indian. "We found it all in storage." She says, looking around the place.

Sarah nods. "It's amazing."

A second later, Kenny walks down the stairs and places his gun on the ground. The rest of the group, including me, chime along and place our weapons down.

"Good. If you all follow me, I can show you where you can sleep." The woman says, walking up the stairs with the rest of the group.

As we walk up the stairs, Luke grabs my hand and smiles. I cling onto his hand and smile back as we walk past the huge Christmas tree and up a bigger flight of stairs. The woman points to the row of doors, spaced out in between the walls.

"Before I show you all your rooms, my name is Sarita, the man with the beard is Kenny and the other is Walter. We have another friend, his name is Matthew. He'll be back shortly, he's outside along the mountains doing his own little thing." The woman, now known as Sarita informs us.

We all give a nod and introduce ourselves.

"I'm Luke, this is Kirsten-" Luke points towards me. "-and this is Nick." He turns around and points to Nick.

"I'm Alvin, and this is my wife, Rebecca." Alvin says, taking his hand out of his pocket and pointing to Rebecca.

Rebecca smiles and waves. "Hey."

"And what's your name?" Sarita politely asks Sarah.

Sarah smiles. "I'm Sarah, and my dad's name is Carlos."

"Hello." Carlos says with a slight smile.

"Well, it's great to meet you all. You can pick any room you like as long as it's not taken." Sarita says, pointing towards the doors.

Luke and I walk all the way down to the end and pick the last room, the others walked all the way down too and picked the rooms besides ours, going upward.

Luke opens the bedroom door and lets me in first. He follows, closing the door behind him.

I sit myself on the bed and look around the bedroom. "Damn, this bedroom is ama-"

I'm suddenly cut off by a pair of lips softly being placed on mine.

_'Well, hello there Luke.'_

Still kissing, Luke lays me down on the bed along with himself.

I pull Luke softly off of me. "Wait, what if Clementine or Sarah or someone comes in?"

"Nah, Clementine is talking to that guy, what's his name... uh, Kenny. And the others won't come in without knockin'." Luke says before pressing his lips up against mine for a second time.

Meh, I'll go along with it. I doubt they'd just barge in without knocking.

Luke sits up and takes his jumper off, throwing it onto the ground.

"Woah, wait. We'll make too much noise, we can't do this now." I say, sitting up and leaning on my elbows.

Luke raises an eyebrow. "If we could do it last night where no one heard us, I'm sure we could do it now."

"Everyone was asleep, though. And I'm pretty sure they're all wide awake now." I say, bending over the bed and grabbing Luke's jumper.

Luke pulls me up from the bed. "Fine, fine."

"Hey, you know I would. Just not now, okay?" I say, handing Luke his jumper as he puts it on.

"I know, I get what you mean." Luke says, kissing my forehead and hugging me. "Come on, let's go downstairs and check the place out."

I nod and grab his hand as he opens the door, we both walk out the room and downstairs.

Clementine was talking to Walter, Sarita was at the Christmas tree with Sarah, and Nick walked up to Luke and I.

"Nick, let's go help out a little, alright? Kirst, you should go talk to Clem. I'm sure she could tell us more about this place." Luke says, giving me a smile and walking off with Nick.

I turn myself around and walk up to Clementine who had just finished talking to Walter.

"Hey, Clem. Let's go check the place out." I say with a smile.

Clementine nods. "Sure."

As we begin to walk around, I engage in discussion with her.

"So, how'd you know Kenny?" I ask, looking down at her.

She smiles a saddened grin. "I've known him since all this started. Lee and I went to this farm and Kenny was there before us."

"Oh, that's cool. I think I knew Kenny before this all, he seems familiar and looks it too. I just can't put my finger on it." I say, rubbing my head.

Clementine looks at me wide eyed. "Well, he did have a wife and son. Katjaa and Duck."

Katjaa and Duck... Duck! That's right! "That's right! And he used to live in Florida. My family and I went to Florida for a holiday and my Dad's friend John, had a friend that needed their son to be babysat while they were out. I volunteered and I was kept up all night hearing him talk about Batman."

Clementine looks down a little. "Yeah, I remember Duck. He was my best and only friend at the start of this, he used to annoy me a lot about Batman and super heroes and dinosaurs, so I put bugs under his pillow." She smiles at the last bit she said.

I laugh a little before going on. "What happened to him and Katjaa?"

Clementine went silent for a moment. "Duck got bitten. Kenny and Katjaa went into the woods to say goodbye before Lee put him out of his misery, but Katjaa shot herself before Lee could make it over there."

"Oh... I'm sorry to hear that. I don't think I should talk to Kenny about knowing him before this, should I?" I ask quietly.

Clementine shakes her head. "I'm sure he'll figure it out and talk to _you _about it."

"Alright."

* * *

After a couple more minutes of walking around and checking the place out, Walter announces dinner.

"Well everyone, dinner is served. C'mon, let's eat!"

Clementine and I walk over to the dining area, I walk to the table that consisted of our group and sat next to Luke.

Luke turns around to signal Clementine, but Kenny beats him to it.

"Right here, Clem!" Kenny shouts out to her, waving his hand.

Clementine looks around the tables for a minute before sitting at Kenny's table. I would do the same if I just found one of my friends, they can catch up a little more.

Luke looks a little sad that she didn't decide to sit with us.

"Come on, Luke. Don't be sad, she just wants to catch up with him." I say with a little smile before taking a spoonful of peaches and beans.

Luke nods. "You're right." He gives me a little smile before eating.

The group get into discussion about some stuff before Walter and Sarita walk over, wanting to get to know the group more. Luke, Nick and I remove ourselves and move over to Kenny's table.

I sit next to Clementine, Nick sits next to me and Luke sits next to Kenny.

"Hey there." Kenny says, looking over at Luke.

Luke nods. "Hey."

Kenny kindly asks. "Hope you like the food."

"Oh, it's... it's great. Thank you." Luke awkwardly smiles.

Kenny smirks. "Peaches and beans. Great for nutrition. Not too great on the way out, though, I tell ya." Kenny bursts out into laughter while all four of us make a disgusted face.

To be honest, it put me off my food little. But hell, I've seen worse things in the apocalypse.

"So it's Luke... and Nick. Luke and Nick. You guys sure do look like a match." Kenny insults the both of them.

I narrow my eyebrows a little. "Well, actually-"

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Nick hisses as he cuts me off.

"I'm just sayin', you look like good friends, that's all." Kenny backs himself up.

Luke looks at me with a confused face before speaking. "So, what was your plan here? Hold out for the winter?"

"Actually, we were thinking of movin' on. Somewhere up north. You ever heard of a place called Wellington?" Kenny asks.

Clementine's eyes widen.

"Wellington? That's where we were heading." I say, taking a small spoonful of the food.

Clementine nods. "Yeah, Christa and I were going there."

"Supposed to be a big camp up near Michigan." Kenny informs us.

We didn't know about the camp, it didn't sound too real.

"Michigan?" Nick asks.

Kenny's face angers up. "You got a hearin' problem, kid? Yeah, Michigan. Think about it, fresh water, lots of land, and cold ass winters, so the walkers get slow."

Nick jumps into his defense. "Sounds like bullshit."

And then, Kenny jumps into his defense. "Listen, Vanilla Ice-" I cut Kenny off with a burst of laughter and myself nearly choking on my food. "-I don't know what your deal is, but you're more than welcome to take off in the mornin'."

"Well that'd be just fine by me." Nick hisses, while glaring at Kenny.

Kenny bolts his eyes towards Clementine. "What's the deal with these guys, Clem?"

"Hey, fuck you, buddy." Nick retorts.

Luke jumps in to calm Nick down. "It's fine, Nick. We're not stayin'."

"She's stayin'!" Kenny argues, pointing towards Clementine.

Luke looks at him in shock. "Wh- S'cuse me?"

"You heard me. It seems like Clem and the girl here are the only ones that got common sense!" Kenny spits out, pointing towards Clementine and I.

"I'm actually still trying to get over the Vanilla Ice joke..." I say, still trying to hold in my laughter. "If you didn't say that, I'd tell you you're a moron."

Clementine shuts her eyes closed. "Please, don't fight!"

"Gentlemen, please. There's no need for this." Walter butts in, trying to calm the situation down.

Luke glares at Kenny and Kenny returns the stare.

"Now look, we've all had a long day. Please, eat." Walter continues.

There's silence for a brief moment until Kenny spoke up.

"Pass me that can, Duck." Kenny says to Clementine, widening his eyes in shock, just realizing what he said.

Luke looks confused. "Duck? Who's Duck?"

"Luke, no..." I whisper to him, shaking my head.

Clementine looks up at Kenny. "Leave him alone, Luke..."

* * *

_**[A/N] AH I'M SORRY, SO MUCH WRITER'S BLOCK. Don't freak out if I don't update for a day or two. I'm just getting my other fanfiction up and running, you can always contact me if you want! **_

_**A review, follow and favourite is much appreciated!**_

_**-Inf.**_


	18. What Happened To You

_**[A/N] Sorry for not updating anything at all yesterday, I had a massive writers block and couldn't continue writing yesterday. Anyway, hope you enjoy the chapter!**_

* * *

By the time we finished dinner, Walter went outside with Clementine and Kenny soon later joined them.

"That guy is an asshole." Nick says to Luke and I as we're walking up the stairs. "And why the hell did you laugh at that 'Vanilla Ice' joke?" Nick hisses at me.

"What? It was funny." I retort, trying to contain my giggles. Luke gives me a little nudge with his elbow while he looks over at me and smiles.

As Nick walks into his bedroom, Luke and I continue to go to ours a little more down the hall. As we enter the room, we decide to look it over a little. Considering that we didn't get to before because of our... 'moment'.

"Have a look in those drawers, I'm sure there's some useful stuff." Luke says, pointing towards the drawers against the wall as he scrambles through the wardrobe.

I open one of the drawers and jumble around the personal items that was left here. I close the drawer, and open another. "Still more personal items, nothing useful here." I say, closing the drawer and opening another.

"Holy shit..." Luke says in awe. My eyes widen as I look over to see him holding a picture frame. "Kirst, come look at this." He says, still gazing at the frame.

I walk over to Luke with a worried expression throughout my face. "What is it- ...Oh shit." I spit out as my jaw drops in awe. The picture frame contains a picture with two men. One of those men being Walter, and the other is that guy on the bridge. "Walter said his name was Matthew..."

Luke rubs his forehead in fear. "I asked Sarita about him and I knew something wasn't right. That's why we were looking in here... Shit, shit, shit... What are we gonna do?!" He asks, gesturing his hand.

"We need to tell Nick, if he doesn't know and Walter finds out, there's going to be problems!" I demand, pacing around the room.

Luke shakes his head and looks at me bug eyed. "Are you crazy?! We don't know _what_ Walter will do if he finds out! He could hurt one of us!" Luke spits out in concern, softly grabbing my arms to stop me from pacing around in fear for any longer.

I pull myself out of his grasp. "We _need_ to tell him!" I retort, walking up to the door and opening it.

"Kirsten, stop!" He loudly whispers as he bolts up behind me and grabs my wrist. "Stop, okay? Here, we'll talk to Clementine first." He says pointing towards Clementine who just entered the lodge.

"Fine."

* * *

Clementine looks like she has a sad expression on her face, she looks really mopey and down.

"Clementine." Luke whispers, gaining her attention. She looks towards him and jumps a little. "Don't freak out." He continues, motioning his hand to come towards him and I.

She squints her eyes a little at him before walking over. She looks up at the both of us with a concerned look.

"Listen, okay. I gotta tell you somethin'." He whispers, pulling out the picture frame. "That guy on the bridge was Walter's friend." He says, showing her the picture frame.

Clementine grabs it from him and takes a closer look.

"See, I knew somethin' was off. So I asked Sarita about their friend. Now they're all worried he's not back yet." Luke informs her, looking over at me with narrowed eyebrows.

Clementine looks around a little before asking. "Where's Nick?"

"I don't know."

I fold my arms and glare at Luke for a second. "_I_ wanted to go tell Nick so he can tell Walter, but _someone_ won't let me." I add in, looking away from Luke when I said the last bit.

Luke shakes his head and looks down, letting out a sigh. "Walter doesn't know yet, so we have to keep this quiet. I mean, who knows what the hell he'd do if he found out."

"He's going to find out one way or another, Luke." I retort.

Luke pats the air with his hands in an attempt to make me be quiet. "We'll deal with it then, alright?" He softly hisses while he turns over to Clementine. "Now, do you still have that knife? Because if it's Matthew's and Walter sees it, he's gonna put two and two together."

Clementine looks behind herself to where the weapons are. "It's with the other weapons."

"Okay, well, go get rid of it." He replies, pointing towards the weapons. "And I'll find Walter and run interference."

"Luke-" I try to intervene but he cuts me off.

"Oh, and, uh... Keep an eye out for Nick."

"Luke!" I hiss in a whisper.

"I'm right here. What's up?" Nick asks as he walks towards the three of us.

Goddamnit, Luke.

Clementine quickly hides the picture frame behind her back and turns around to Nick.

"Oh, uh, It's nothin', man. I just wanted to check and see if you're okay." Luke says, emerging from behind the pillar and scratching the back of his head.

Nick gives a smirk at him and folds his arms. "You comin' to tuck me in?" He laughs.

I give a little smirk myself and mutter under my breath. "You wish."

Luke let's out a charming giggle and smiles at Nick. "Yeah, yeah. Somethin' like that."

Clementine looks up at Nick, bug eyed. "We have to tell you something."

Thank God, Clementine has common sense.

"Hey, if there's something goin' on, I wanna know." Nick says, looking clueless at the three of us.

Luke shakes his head. "Nah, just... go back to bed, Nick."

"I'm serious, you guys can talk to me." Nick implies, stepping a little forward towards us.

I couldn't take it, Nick had to know. If he doesn't know, and Walter finds out, shit is going to go down. I snatch the photo frame from Clementine's hands and show it to Nick.

Nick grabs it from my hands and his eyes shoot wide open. "Oh Jesus. Oh God." Fear overcomes his face.

"Goddamnit, Kirsten... hey, Nick, shut the fuck up." Luke says in an attempt to get Nick to lower his voice.

I glare over at Luke while folding my arms.

"I can't, man. I can't." Nick says in denial.

Luke looks at him with annoyance. "Do not, fucking, blow it." He says in a low, but quiet voice.

"Blow it? It's over. I have to tell him, Luke."

"What? No! You... hey Nick, you cannot do that. Are you fucking nuts?" Luke throws his fists in a fit of rage.

Is this even Luke? Luke would be the first to run up and do the humane thing, but now he's rebelling against it? Where the hell is the Luke I know?!

"Jesus, Luke! Who are you right now? Walter _needs_ to know, that's his fucking friend!" I hiss, unfolding my arms and tightening my fists.

"Kirst, he could hurt one of us!" He retorts.

Nick shakes his head. "Luke, I got to. I can't live with that on me."

"Okay, I hear you, but... I mean, fuck, man. Do you know what he's gonna do?!"

"You don't know he'll do anything." Nick implies, shaking his head a little.

Luke looks at him like he's crazy. "Are you kidding me? Nick, you _SHOT_ his _FRIEND_."

Clementine looks up at me, then to Nick. "You should tell him." She softly whispers.

Luke looks concerned. "Nick, I am warning you. This is fucking suicide."

"I'll live with it." Nick hisses as he walks off.

"Jesus Christ..." Luke mutters, before going after Nick, but he stops himself. "Look, Clem... Just go do that thing, alright?" He says, glaring at me before walking off.

I let out a sigh as I fold my arms. "Come on, let's go get the knife."

* * *

Clementine follows along, jogging up to her backpack and unzipping it. Her eyes bulge out wide and look up at me.

"What's wrong?" I whisper, looking around just in case.

Clementine stands up from her backpack. "It's gone..." She whispers back with a frightened look on her.

"Shit... Where is it?" I ask, looking around to see if anyone had it.

Clementine looks around, under the seat, next to other weapons and under them, too. Until she sets her gaze onto the front doors of the lodge. "Walter has it..."

"What?!" I whisper edgingly, as Clementine points towards the front doors. "Holy shit..."

Clementine and I slowly walk up to the doors and push it open. We slowly step outside and eye out Walter, who's looking over the knife.

"Walter, put the knife down..." Clementine slowly approaches him. I grab onto her shoulder a little, just incase he tried to hurt her.

Walter didn't budge. "I always liked this knife." He says, before taking the knife out of it's cover. I got to reach for my knife out of my holster, but it wasn't there. I put it down when we first came in... "Gave it to Matthew when all this started... I know he's dead." My heart sank a little when I heard that. Nick never meant to hurt him on purpose... "Who did it? Was it that- that kid? What's his name... uh, Nick? Heard him talking earlier. Somethin' about shooting a man." Walter shakes his head. "I could see it. I could see it on his face."

Clementine looked scared to answer, the situation put her into freeze.

"It was him. It was Nick, but he didn't mean it." I say, looking down to the ground and closing my eyes.

"Jesus... I, um... I don't feel good." Walter says, still not budging.

Clementine looks up at Walter, still ridden with fear. "Nick shot him." She says in a shaky tone.

Walter's grip on the knife tightens, I pull Clementine back a little and put her behind my back a bit.

"Is... Is Nick a good man?" Walter asks. "Or is he just like everyone else." Walter peers over his shoulder towards us a little.

Clementine nods. "He is. He's a good man, Walter. He saved my life."

I add. "Nick was just protecting us, he thought Matthew was holding us up."

From the corner of our eyes, Clementine and I see Nick open the front doors. Nick's face turns into utter fear as he steps outside.

"He was always going out alone. I told him something like this would happen. But he wouldn't listen. No, Matt always knew best." Walter says, becoming a weak wreck inside.

Nick taps me on my shoulder. "What's going on?" He whispers, looking over at Walter.

"Walter knows, you need to tell him." I whisper back.

Walter turns around, knife in hand. "Tell me what you did. Just tell me, son. Tell me what happened."

Nick holds his hands up in surrender as I bring Clementine a little more back. "From a distance it looked like anyone. I... I thought he was going to shoot my friends. And I... I shot Matthew. But it happened real fast. I didn't... I didn't know if I hit him. But I did, and... I didn't mean to."

Walter walks closer to Nick and I and my guard is starting to shoot up, fast. "Do yo know what you've done to me? Do you have any idea?" He asks in an angered tone.

"I didn't mean to. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry, Walter." Nick tries to plead with the man.

Walter looks down at the knife for a bit, before coming to a conclusion with his thoughts. He throws the knife into the field, holding his head down.

Suddenly, the wind turbine that generates the electricity for the lodge goes into over-drive. Making a very loud 'wooshing' sound that could attract all unwanted attention.

The sounds is loud enough to bring the group out of the lodge.

Kenny bolts out first with most of the group behind him. "Walt! What's goin' on?" He asks, not getting a reply from Walter. He walks over to Nick and looks up, seeing the wind turbine spin out of control. "This storm's got it spinnin' out of control. That sound's gonna draw walkers. We gotta shut it down, now!" Kenny demands, turning around to face the group.

"Nick, help me carry the guns." Carlos asks, walking back into the lodge with Nick.

Sarita turns around in fear. "Guns?!"

Carlos and Nick come back with the guns, and handing Clementine and I a pistol.

"You know how to shoot a rifle?" Nick asks, handing me my knife along with my gun.

I shake my head. "No clue." I say, sliding my knife back into it's holster.

The group head off running towards the wind turbine. When we make it there, we hear a huge crash from behind the lodge.

"What the hell was that?" Luke asks, turning around.

Suddenly, the lights and electricity for the lodge power out, making it pitch back.

"Damnit! Transformer musta gone. Gotta check it, I could use a hand." Kenny says, peering over his shoulder to the group.

Luke turns to Kenny. "I'll go with you." He says with a nod.

I didn't really like the feel of that. Last time I checked, they both weren't on the same page about things.

"I'm going too." Sarita butts in.

Kenny shakes his head. "No. It's too dangerous. Rest of you, get this thing shut down!" He shouts before sprinting off with Luke towards the back of the lodge.

The group turns around to the wind turbine. Sarita opens the control panel's door and it's completely dark.

"Does anyone know how to do this?" Carlos asks, looking around the group.

Clementine nods her head. "I can do it."

What? How would a little girl know how to shut down the wind turbine?

"How do you know how?" I ask, raising an eyebrow.

Clementine pulls the lighter out of her pocket. "My dad was an engineer." I nod to her and she gives me the lighter. "Here, hold this up for me."

I flick on the lighter and hold it up.

"We'll watch your back." Carlos says, turning around to Nick. "Nick, scan the trees with me." Nick nods and they both turn around to keep watch.

Clementine looks around the control panel of the wind turbine before finding a key. She steps on her tippy toes and grabs it, leaning back onto her heels. She puts the key into the big red button with a keyhole in it, she turns the key around and pushes the red button. The wind turbine slowly comes to a stop, the noise getting softer and softer until it finally stops.

There's a silence throughout the field until Nick speaks. "Somethin' ain't right." He says, looking around.

Carlos agrees. "Yeah..."

The sound of many moans, gurgles and croaking roars come out from the forest. Walkers approach the ski lodge and we all draw out our weapons.

"We don't have much ammunition." Carlos says, holding his pistol up.

Nick steps forward. "We gotta get back to the lodge." He says, turning around to hear the moans and gurgles from behind. "They're behind us!" He shouts.

"Everyone, get your weapons ready!"

* * *

**_[A/N] Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! I kept getting distracted by Youtube and stuff, heh... Anyway, A review, follow and favourite is much appreciated!_**

**_-Inf._**


	19. William Carver

**_[A/N] Sorry for not updating for a bit, I've been quite busy lately. Yeah... 'busy'. Anyway, hope you enjoy!_**

* * *

I draw my pistol out and take a shot at the closest walker, the bullet penetrating it's skull and into it's rotten brain. The rest of the group start to fire their guns, hitting the walkers close by.

"Clem, get your gun out!" I shout to her, as she looks around in fear.

Clementine grabs her pistol and crouches behind a tree stump. Standing up, she takes a shot at the walker to her left. Hitting it in the shoulder, it's slightly forced backwards but is still on it's feet. Clementine takes another shot and it goes clean through the walkers head, falling to the ground.

As I continue to shoot, I look behind me to see Clementine standing behind a rock with two walkers approaching her. She wasn't using her gun, so I figured that she ran out of bullets. "Carlos!" I shout out to him as I point towards Clementine in need of help. He shoots the two remaining walkers that surround her.

Carlos yells out to Clementine, "Run! Go!" just before a walker from behind grabs him.

"Carlos!" I yell, running over to his aid.

The walker pulls the rifle that's strapped onto his back off and Carlos jumps forward, spinning around on his heels, he shoots the walker clean through the head and it falls on top of the rifle.

As I make it up to him, he shoots the walker to his left that was pretty close to him.

"Keep moving, get to the lodge!" Carlos yelps as he runs towards the other area.

I run after him but stop myself when I see Clementine holding a rifle up and aiming at the walker that waddles over to her.

"Clem, no!" I yelp, accidentally dropping my gun and running towards her just as she takes the shot.

It completely misses the walker and Clementine falls flat onto her butt, the rifle laying down on the floor. She grabs the rifle again and props it up against the floor. Aiming at the walker, she takes the shot and the bullet sweeps through it's head, falling to the floor.

I run up to Clementine and help her off the ground. "You okay, kid?" I ask, dusting her off a little. She gives me a nod.

"Somebody, help me!" A voice shouts in help.

Clementine and I run over to see Nick struggling to get a walker away from him. "Please, help me!" He shouts as the walker flails it's arms around.

We look over to the left of Nick and see Walter holding up a pistol towards Nick. Shit, is Walter going to shoot Nick? A gun shot fires and it zooms straight into the walkers head, freeing Nick from the struggle.

The two exchange looks before Walter runs over to help Carlos. Clementine and I both follow Walter, with Nick following us.

Carlos looks towards him to see a herd coming towards the lodge. "Clem, get inside! Go!" He alerts, shooting the remaining walkers.

Clementine bolts off running into the lodge while I check myself for any guns.

"Shit," I whisper to myself. "Guys, I'm gonna need a weapon?" I shout, trying to over voice the gunshots. Carlos reaches into the back of his jeans and pulls out another pistol, throwing it towards me.

One by one, I shoot the herd of walkers approaching the lodge. Suddenly, gunshots and fires come bursting through the forest. Shooting all the walkers in sight. I squint my eyes through the bush of the forest to see a woman and three men come out.

Bonnie, Troy, Johnny and... Carver.

"Bonnie?!" I yelp, looking straight at her as they all approach. She looks down in guilt.

Getting trapped with them out here, could be the end of any one of us. I turn around on my heels and sprint towards the lodge, doing little zig-zags incase any gun shots come my way.

"Get her!" I hear Troy yelp.

Carver's voice slowly softens. "Leave her, we're going in anyway."

I pull the front doors to the lodge and bolt inside. Rebecca looks towards me as after staring out the window.

"Kirsten, it's Carver!" She yelps, raging into a panic attack. "He can't find me!"

I walk up to her and place a hand on her shoulder. "He won't, okay? We'll hide. Where's Luke?" Luke's the main thing on my mind right now, I don't want him hurt or missing.

Rebecca looks at me in concern. "He wasn't with you?" She asks.

I shake my head. "Him and Kenny went to go fix the transformer, I thought they'd be in here?" Concern is starting to overwhelm me, I know Luke is around here somewhere...

We all look out the window to see what's going on. Carlos leans forward and spits in Carver's face, Carver returning the action with a punch to the jaw.

"Dad!" Sarah yelps as she stands up and sprints off out of the lodge.

"Sarah!" Rebecca shouts, trying to stop her from leaving but she ignores her plead and continues to run.

We see Sarah run into the arms of Carlos. Carver turns around and looks and the lodge, pointing at it. He says something, but we obviously can't hear it. As they walk inside, Rebecca, Alvin and I run up the stairs and sit tight there. Clementine leaps forward to the side of the couch so she isn't seen, looking towards Alvin.

Bonnie whistles. "Look at this place..." She says in awe, looking around the lodge.

After Bonnie talks with Johnny for a little bit, Clementine bolts forward and up the stairs when he isn't looking.

All four of us sit on the second half floor of the lodge, peeking over every once in a while to see what Carver's group is doing to ours.

"Kirst, try getting a look." Alvin says, nudging his head towards the railing.

I give Alvin a nod while I move a little closer to the railing. I peek my head up and take a quick glance over, I see Bonnie and Troy tie up the hands of Carlos, Sarah, Nick, Walter and Sarita. I bend back down to inform the others. "They're tying up the group, I don't know if they're going to kill them or not, though."

Rebecca starts to panic. "Oh god, what if they _do_ kill someone? What if they kill Carlos? Then I don't have anyone to deliver the baby!" She hisses in a whisper.

I shake my head. "They wouldn't kill him. Carver thinks that he's bringing us back to the camp. If you have your baby there, he's gonna need someone to deliver it."

Rebecca's eyes widen. "I am not going back there!" She violently whispers.

"Oof!" A voice cries out in pain, starting to cough.

"Dad!" Sarah's voice screams out.

I look over the railing again to see Carlos in the middle of the room, being stood over by Carver.

"Listen, I'm only going to ask you once. Where's Rebecca?" Carver spits out, demanding at Carlos.

Carlos looks over at Sarah. "Sarah, look at me. It's gonna be okay- Arghh!" Carlos is cut off by Carver's hand grabbing his hair and pulling his head back. He grabs Carlos' hand and pulls his index finger back. "Arrghhh!" He cries out in pain.

I bend back down off the railing and look at the group who's staring through the railing at Carver. "Holy shit, did you see that?" I whisper, looking towards the group.

"Rebecca?" Carver yells out, trying to bring her forward. "Rebecca, our baby deserves to be raised in a place of safety!" I look over at Alvin who's clenching his fists and looking down at the ground. "I know you're out there. And Alvin, and Luke, Kirsten, and the girl."

My face shadows with fear. _Luke. _Where the hell is Luke?! The only thing that's calming me down is that he's with Kenny, but even that terrifies me by itself.

"This is real simple. You want this over quick, you play nice and show your faces." Carver insists, looking up and around the lodge.

Sarah cries out and pleads with Carver. "Don't hurt my dad! Please!"

Alvin looks over at Rebecca. "He'll kill him."

"No, Alvin." Rebecca retorts, pleading with him.

"We gotta go down there." Alvin insists, letting go of his clenched fists.

Rebecca shakes her head. "I can't do that."

"Bec... The baby... You _need_ a doctor!" Alvin demands, looking down at Rebecca's stomach.

Clementine looks at the couple in concern. "We have to help Carlos."

Alvin pulls his gaze at Clementine. "Only way to help him is to do what the man says."

Rebecca's eyes widen as she cries out in a whisper. "What about Luke and Kenny?"

But Alvin starts to make sense. "Look at those guns. We start shootin' and people are gonna die on both sides."

We hear another painful shout from Carlos. "Arrruuuugghhh!" He cries out.

"DAD!" Sarah screams.

"Clem or Kirsten can sneak out. Find Luke." Rebecca suggests.

"What the hell are they gonna do? And you heard him, Carver knows Clem's with us." Alvin retorts, glancing quickly at Clementine and I before looking back at Rebecca.

"Just stop! Don't hurt my dad, please!" Sarah cries out again, watching Carlos go through agonising pain.

Alvin shakes his head at the pleads from Sarah. "We're going down there."

"He'll kill you!" Rebecca retorts.

I look over the railing again to see what's happening.

"Fuck you. Shoot him! Somebody just shoot hi-" Carlos is cut off by the grasp of Carver's hand onto his hair again, he holds a knife close by his throat.

I bend back down and look at the group. "He's got a knife towards his neck, we need to think of something, fast!"

Rebecca looks to Clementine and I. "Girls, go get help."

"He'll kill him Bec!" Alvin pleads.

"He'll do it anyway!" She retorts.

Clementine looks towards me and I nod to her. We had to find Luke and Kenny. "We'll go find Luke and Kenny, stay here and stay safe."

"Goddamnit." Alvin mutters and Clementine and I crouch over to the window. Alvin follows close behind us and opens the small window. "Hurry."

Clementine jumps out the window first, landing on the deck of the lodge. I follow close behind her and jump out. We crouch down and waddle along the deck, peaking through the window with boards covered by it.

"What do you see?" I ask her as she squints one of her eyes at what's happening inside.

She looks over to me with wide eyes. "Carver just punched Carlos in the face." Mimicking her action before, I squint one of my eyes at the hear of it.

We both move along the deck and stop of the corner of the lodge, we look around to see Kenny with his rifle in a little hut area, but no Luke. That's when I start to panic.

"Clem!" He whispers, looking over at her with wide eyes and a slight smile.

Clementine and I go around the corner of the lodge and stop by the window where Johnny approaches from the inside, he looks around for a bit before moving to the right more. Clementine looks at me and I give her a nod as we both crawl down move along the side of the window, being very careful that we aren't spotted by Johnny.

We make it to the end of the window and hear a great scream from inside, it sounded a lot like Carlos. Johnny turns around and we both bolt up towards Kenny.

"You alright?" He asks Clementine, looking her over.

Clementine looks up at him in question. "Where's Luke?" She asks.

"Yeah, where the hell is he?" I hiss, adding on to what Clementine asked.

Kenny lines up the shot with his rifle. "Hell, I don't know. He was whinin' about somethin' or other, so I told him to take a hike-"

"You let him go out there alone?! Are you fucking crazy?" I cut him off, hissing at Kenny. Luke could be hurt, or worse. And this asshole let him go out alone?!

Kenny peers over his shoulder and at me. "Listen, lady. It's not my fault he complained about shit and went off by himself. Why do you care so much?"

That triggered me. "Why do I care? Oh, I don't know..." I say sarcastically. "Maybe the reason that he's my fucking boyfriend?!" I hiss, forgetting to keep my voice down.

"Keep your voice down, you're going to blow our cover!" Kenny whispers, lining up the shot. What an asshole. Kenny pulls the gun down and looks through the window in concern.

I look through the window to see Alvin and Rebecca surrendering themselves to Carver.

"Looks like they got everyone..." Kenny says, his voice in a windy tone. "Who are these guys? Can we take 'em? I've got a pretty clear shot on the one."

"No, don't. We can't take these guys." I say, placing a hand on my hip.

Clementine looks up at Kenny. "I don't know. Maybe we should go find Luke?" She suggests, looking over at me.

I nod. "Yeah, we should. I'm sure he could help-" I'm cut off by a loud noise.

A gunshot, fired by Kenny sweeps straight into the forehead of Johnny. "Got him." Kenny says, looking over at Clementine in pride.

Clementine gasps as she sees his body fall to the ground.

"Are you fucking crazy?! He's going to kill one of us, now!" I hiss, pushing the rifle away from where he aimed.

We see Carver emerge from the side of the window to the front of it, he has a defenseless Walter in his arms. He throws Walter onto the floor, and takes a shot straight into the side of his head.

"Walt!" Kenny cries out.

"Oh my god!" Clementine gasps, looking at me in fear.

I grab Clementine and give her a hug. "Don't look, Clementine." I say, patting her back. "I told you!" I snap at Kenny.

"That's for our man! Now I didn't want to do this, but you ain't leavin' me much choice. So here's what's gonna happen. I'm gonna march another one of your friends out here and I'm gonna put a bullet in the back of their head. Or you can give up now, you're choice." Carver shouts out, hiding behind one of the pillars.

Kenny takes another shot, hitting the pillar.

"Kenny, cut it the fuck out!" I hiss.

Kenny loads the rifle again. "Motherfucker." He mutters, taking another shot at Carver but missing.

Clementine looks around to get a better view of inside. "Guys, over there." She points to a little area with a railing around it.

We all run towards it and have a better view of inside.

Carver marches up with Alvin in his arms, holding a gun to his head.

Clementine gasps. "Alvin!" She whispers.

"Damn, tough shot." Kenny says, loading his rifle.

Anger flushes my face as I glare at Kenny. "You're not _taking_ another shot, asswipe. He's going to kill Alvin, and then _Rebecca_ will kill you!" I hiss, folding my arms at him.

Kenny completely ignores my demands and looks over at Clementine, lining up the shot. "What do ya think?" He asks.

Clementine looks at Alvin through the window and back over to Kenny, she grabs his gun away from the aim and looks straight at him.

"The hell are you doin'?!" Kenny spits out at her in confusion.

"He'll kill him!" Clementine says, releasing her grip from the gun.

Kenny shakes his head. "We can't just give up!"

"Kenny, he'll keep doing this. Think about Sarita." She says in a whisper, looking over at him with puppy dog eyes.

Kenny thinks for a second before coming to a conclusion. "We're comin' out!" He shouts, dropping his rifle onto the snow filled ground.

As the three of us walk towards the doors, Bonnie kicks them open. Holding a gun at us. "Let's go." She hisses.

* * *

I can see the guilt and sadness in Bonnie's eyes as she ties my hands up. "Why, Bonnie?" I whisper to her, looking at her with big round eyes.

She shuts her eyes a little and finishes tying up my hands. "I'm sorry, Kirsten. I am." And with that, she walks back towards Carver.

Carver paces around slowly and eyes us out. "Where's Luke?" He asks. "Finally cut and run, huh? Why am I not surprised." Carver spins on his heels and walks up to me, looking me dead in the eyes. "I warned you. I warned you not to follow him. And look where he's led you."

"You didn't warn shit." I retort, not taking my eyes off him. Carver gives me a devilish smile before kicking me in the side of my leg. "Arrughh, fuck!" I hiss, not being able to tend to my leg.

"Stop! Don't hurt her!" Sarah cries out. Her pleads and cries are useless towards Carver, he doesn't even bat an eye at her.

Carver still has his eyes on mine, before looking down at my thigh holster. He bends down to my level and grabs my knife. "Still got this thing, huh?" He asks, sliding his fingers across the knife. He spins around on his heels and puts the knife in his pocket. "You're safe now," He continues on from where he left off about the situation with Luke. "We're going home. As a family." He says, looking over at Rebecca who's clutching her stomach.

"Alright, round 'em up. We're headin' back to camp."

* * *

_**[A/N] Hope you enjoyed! I'm going to be posting another 1 maybe 2 more chapters! A review, follow and favourite is much appreciated!**_


	20. Truck Ride

_**[A/N] Hope you enjoy the chapter! We're finally starting Episode 3 and I hope you guys like it! Once I'm done with Episode 3, I'll be waiting until Episode 4 comes out to update it. So if I don't post anything on this fanfiction for a while, just remember! But I will be updating my new fanfiction called "Teenaged Years". It's a TWDG High school AU, which was inspired by Pikacheeks (ily) and yes, it does have Kirsten in it! Anyway, enjoy the chapter!**_

* * *

I lean against the tree, keeping an eye out for any danger while Sarah is over by the bush trying to pee. The sun isn't as warm enough to warm us up from the cold winter breeze, but at least there's some sun out in general.

"Is it a moth or a butterfly?" I ask, looking at the insect that sits peacefully on the tree as Clementine stares at it.

Clementine raises an eyebrow and pulls the corner of her lips up. "I think it's a moth." Clementine says, touching the insect as it flies away.

"You about done over there?" A voice from near the truck shouts.

Sarah emerges from the trees and zips up her pants. "Yeah, one second!" She shouts back in a feminine voice. "Thanks for coming with me. It's scary out here." She says, looking around the terrain of trees and bushes. "I know they made yous, but it's still nice that yous came."

Clementine looks at Sarah with a smile. "We're friends... friends look out for one another."

Sarah nods her head with a smile back. "We all are, aren't we?" She says, looking at me. I give her a nod. "Well, if you guys need to pee, let me know. I'll keep an eye out for yous, too." She says with an adorable soft grin.

"Uh... okay." Clementine says in a awkward voice.

I think it kind of freaked her out a little that Sarah was so nice, and friendly to her. Sarah is the one of the few good things in this world, she's a very good girl and she reminds me a little of how Claire was when she was around the age of seven or eight.

All three of us began to walk back up to the truck, where Carver, Troy and Bonnie were standing guard.

"Everything come out alright, girls?" Troy asks. It gave me pedophilish vibes, the girls too. They just stood there and glared at him.

"That's a little creepy, don't you think?" I ask, folding my arms.

Carver, who's talking on a walkie talkie, turns around to us. "Troy, get 'em tied up."

"Will do..." Troy responds in a creepy voice. I don't remember him being _that_ creepy, just a little idiotic.

As Troy ties up Sarah's hands first, Clementine and I stand next to him. Waiting for our turn, and we can't help but eavesdrop on Carver's conversation with someone on the walkie talkie. Considering that he was taking so goddamn loud.

"Well, we're on our way, probably thirty minutes out. Make sure everyone's prepped. Emotions might be running high. Carver out." Carver releases the big red button and pulls the walkie talkie away from him. Carver turns to Troy and hisses. "If I find out that you've been wasting fuel to keep that fuckin' heater going, I'll make you walk back."

"Nope, froze my ass off... Just like you told me to." He says, not batting an eye at Carver.

Carver turns around and glares at Clementine. "It ain't polite to listen to other folks conversations. Had anyone ever taught you that? Or did you learn that off Kirsten over here." He says, smirking at me while Troy ties my hands up.

"I'm sorry." Clementine says, looking down to the ground.

"It's okay, honey. We'll chalk it up as a lesson learned, alright?" Carver replied with a fake smile towards her.

I'm just glad she didn't say anything to piss him off. He probably would have hit her and that would have made me lose my shit.

"Get the girls in the back with the rest of 'em. We got a bit of a drive ahead of us." Carver says, walking over to the front of the truck.

Troy ties up Clementine's hands and opens the truck's back door. He pulls out a pistol and points it towards us. "In." He says with a motion of his gun.

I roll my eyes and get inside the truck, sitting next to Nick.

"Are you guys okay?" Sarita asks, looking over at the three of us.

Kenny looks at Clementine with anger. "The hell did he do to you?" He asks in concern. "Hey!" He hisses, looking over at Troy. "Did he hurt you?" He asks again. "Hey, hey!-" Kenny's cut off by the slam of the truck door.

* * *

It had been about twenty minutes of driving, and silence between all of us. I can't help but think about where Luke was, and if he's okay. When he left with Kenny, he didn't seem all that happy with me, and I wasn't happy with him either. We left on a low note, and I don't want to feel that pain of losing him while I was angry with him.

"Alright, we gotta do somethin'. Come on. Anyone got anything sharp? Anything?" Kenny asks, breaking the silence of the group.

I shake my head. "Carver took my knife and just about any weapon from any of us. We can't do anything, and we shouldn't do anything."

"We need to get these bindings off!" Kenny demands, looking down at his wrists and trying to squirm out of it. "Hey! Clem, help me find something to get these off. Anything sharp that could cut there..."

Rebecca looks over at Kenny with a face of annoyance. "And what good is that gonna do?" She asks.

"The hell is wrong with you people?" Kenny hisses. "We gotta get out of here."

Clementine looks up at Kenny. "Like what?" She asks, answering his plea to her.

"What do you mean, like what? Something sharp. Anything that can help! A fuckin'- I don't know! Anything! We're in a fuckin' precarious position here. We gotta do something about that!" Kenny hisses, losing his temper.

"Calm down, asswipe." I hiss, looking over at him as he glares at me back.

Carlos jumps in. "Settle down, Kenny. They took everything. We have to keep a level head."

Rebecca nods. "He's right. You don't know Bill like we do."

"Bill?" Kenny asks, looking over at Rebecca. "This whole time it's Carver, Carver, Carver. Now he's fuckin' Bill?!" Kenny growls.

"It's just his goddamn name, relax." I plead, trying to calm Kenny down.

"Oh, I see what it is. Y'all are just gettin' a ride home, aren't ya? That's what's goin' on here." Kenny remarks, still with a fiery temper.

Nick looks over at Kenny in anger. "Say that again." He growls.

Kenny glares over at Nick. "I'd stay out of this, boy."

"Mister, I ain't a boy!" Nick retorts.

"No, right... you're a man." Kenny sarcastically remarks.

I left out a sigh, and slap my palm onto my forehead. "He doesn't get it."

"You don't understand. He's different... he's worse." Rebecca pleads with Kenny, trying to make him realize that Carver isn't something he's dealt with before.

"The fuck are you talkin' about?" Kenny hisses in a violent tone.

"Easy there, asswipe." I retort, glaring at Kenny.

"He wants to punish us." Rebecca continues.

Clementine looks over at Rebecca in confusion. "What do you mean 'worse'?" She asks.

"He's a fuckin' psychopath now!" Kenny growls.

Carlos' temper rises, Kenny is starting to piss a lot of people off. "You have no idea what you're dealing with!" Carlos grumbles.

"Oh, he gave me a pretty good goddamn idea back at the lodge, and I don't intend to sit around here and let that happen to the rest of us!" Kenny retorts, looking around the group. "I'm tryin' the help!"

"I'm sure Walter really appreciated your help." Carlos replies in anger.

Kenny looks down in guilt and sadness, the only time he actually shut up when someone said something.

Sarita butts in. "That's not fair! You're blaming him for the actions of a madman."

"I am pointing out that, regardless of intent, there are consequences to rash actions. Something he seems to be misreading as capitulation." Carlos retorts, using words that even I hardly understand.

"I dunno what the fuck you're saying, but I know it's bullshit! We have to do something!" Kenny shouts, misunderstanding Carlos' words.

"Kenny..." Sarita tries to calm him down.

"You can't reason with him." Rebecca says, referring to Carver.

Kenny looks around the truck for a moment before seeing a broken edging on the side of the truck. "Oh shit. Jackpot!" He says, standing up.

"Sit down." Carlos says, his eyes following Kenny. "You're going to get us all killed!"

Kenny starts to rub the ropes around the sharp edging. "Y'all don't know what you're talking about. We get cooped up in some kennel like a buncha fuckin' dogs, it's over."

"You don't know that." Rebecca scowls.

"Yeah? Well, I been in this situation before. You ever been a prisoner?" Kenny asks in a snotty tone.

"We've all been prisoners. Why do you think we left?" Carlos retorts.

Clementine looks to the group. "Kenny's right... we have to do something. We can't just sit here."

"How is it the kid is the only one that sees what's goin' on here?"

"Clem, I get what you mean, but we can't do that. Carver isn't like what you see, okay? He's worse than that, way, way worse. You need to cooperate with him for your safety." I say, trying to get her to understand.

Carlos snaps her Clementine. "Clem, the adults are talking."

"Carlos, she's just as important as any adult here, got that? If she can save more lives than you, doesn't that tell you something?" I retort. Clementine might just be a little girl in the eyes of some people, but as I got to know her, she's more mature than you'd think.

"Is that what this is?" Clementine remarks, feeling a bit misunderstood.

Kenny stands up and clenches his fists. "Alright, now we're talkin'." He says, as the rope flows off his wrists.

"Carver will be on the other side of that door with ten people." Carlos implies, while quickly looking over at a sulking Sarah.

"There, there, baby. It's okay. Everything's gonna be fine." Rebecca says in an attempt to comfort Sarah.

Carlos sighs a little. "At this point, maybe Luke is the only hope we have."

"If he was gonna do something, he'd've done it by now." Kenny completely shuts down Carlos' hope.

"Who knows what he's dealing with. Anything can happen out there." Rebecca says, defending Luke.

"I'll tell you what happened; he abandoned us." Kenny remarks.

"You don't know that." Nick retorts.

"I know he ain't here."

I shut my eyes at the thought of Luke not coming to help. "Luke will never do that, he's not like that."

"Yeah, he may not be around, but he wouldn't just leave us behind." Rebecca says, agreeing with what I said.

Kenny's face angers. "That guy is a flake. I could tell the second I set eyes on him."

"And the second I set eyes on you, I knew you were a goddamn asshole! Stop treating us like shit, alright? We know Luke, and you don't. So shut the fuck up already!" I hiss, clenching my teeth and glaring at Kenny.

Clementine shakes her head a little. "Everyone, stop fighting! We have to wait and see, it's all we can do." She yelps.

"She's right. There's no way to know what's happened to him." Rebecca agrees, being neutral on the situation.

Kenny shakes his head. "I told already. He's gone."

The truck comes to a forceful bump, stopping the group from talking.

"We're close." Carlos says, looking around the truck.

"Okay. Let's do this." Kenny says, looking towards the door of the truck.

"They have guns. What exactly do you expect to do?" Rebecca asks, implying that there's no chance in taking control.

Kenny looks down at Rebecca. "I'm gonna punch the first sonuvabitch I see. Then take his gun and use it to shoot the NEXT sonuvabitch I see." Kenny points his hand to the ground.

"Just sit down!" Carlos demands.

"Shut up, Doc! This ain't your call!" Kenny retorts. He looks down at Clementine and softens his expression. "Hey, just... if something happens, just help out, okay? Don't, you know, get yourself hurt or nothin', but any help'd be good." Kenny asks.

Is he seriously asking her to help him just incase he gets hurt? If they shoot him, they're going to shoot her as well.

"Hey, Clem. Look at me. You trust me, right?" Kenny asks as Clementine looks up at him in fear.

Clementine nods. "Yeah, okay... I trust you. I'll... I'll do what I can."

Well, that's a bad idea.

"Alright. It's okay to be a little scared. But we gotta do this." Kenny says, taking his hand off the side of the truck and walking over to the truck door. "Alright. Everybody re-" Kenny is cut off by his face slamming into the truck door after the truck comes to a stop.

"Kenny! Kenny, are you okay?" Sarita dashes up to him as he falls onto the floor.

I couldn't help but burst out in laughter.

"Is he okay?" Rebecca asks, looking at Sarita with big eyes.

Sarita nods. "I think so."

"Argh... what hit me?" Kenny asks, groaning as he holds his head.

Carlos turns away. "It's probably for the best."

* * *

**_[A/N] Not really much of a chapter, since the truck ride was such a long thing to write. Hope you enjoyed! I will be posting another one or two today just because of this chapter. Anyway, a review, follow and favourite is much appreciated!_**

**_-Inf._**


	21. Welcome Back

**_[A/N] Enjoy the chapter!_**

* * *

"Goddamn breaks ain't workin' for shit!"

The truck door slides open and three figures are standing there. Bonnie, Troy, and Tavia. Tavia was a pretty big woman, she was African-American and had dark brown hair that spiraled into an afro. She was wearing a tan and brown colored jacket with blue denim jeans.

"Alright, up and at 'em." Tavia says, motioning her gun for everyone to stand up.

The whole group stands up and walks out of truck. I couldn't get Luke off my mind, it was really starting to stress me out to the point where I wanted run out there, by myself, and find him.

"The fuck? How'd you get your restraints off? C'mere." Troy hisses, I look over my back to see him look Kenny over.

"We've got some familiar faces back with us tonight." Carver alerts, over the P.A in his office. "Now, I understand some of you are confused as to why we'd bring these people back when they left us as they did."

Tavia scoffs. "I think I've got an idea."

"It might not come all at once... but time will heal these wounds... so be patient with them until does... and take solace in knowing that they're here to help us make our home a better place." Carver continues, going on and on.

"Look how much food they have..." Clementine says, looking over at the cans and bags of food that lay on the shelf.

Kenny looks at her. "I hope you ain't saying what I think you're saying."

Clementine keeps her pokerface and looks straight forward as we walk.

Carver is still continuing on the P.A.

Troy walks a little ahead of us and motions his hand to Carlos. "Come on, we need you for something."

"Can it wait until morning? We're all exhausted." Carlos asks, letting out a sigh.

Troy glares at him over his shoulder. "Just come the fuck on."

Carlos and Troy walk off to the side, attending to one of the other guards.

"I need him! I need my dad." Sarah says, looking towards Carlos. "I- I can't, he's... he looks after me."

Troy walks forward as the other guard and Carlos walk off. Motioning his gun, he raises his eyebrows for a brief second and looks towards the rest of the group.

Clementine and Sarah engage in small talk as I walk forward a bit more, reaching the gate to the pen.

Bonnie bends down and unlatches the gate. "Make sure y'all stay off the fence. Bill can see if you're messin' with it." She says, standing up.

Clementine looks behind her to the above office and back to the gate as Bonnie pulls it up.

"Thanks Bonnie." Nick says, before walking into the pen with the others.

Bonnie looks away. "Yup."

I stare at her for a second before walking it. How could she do this to us? Bonnie was the one on the bottom of the list to do something like this, hold us captive in a pen.

Troy walks up to me and takes the bindings off my wrist. I don't bat an eye at him as he looks up at me and gives me that creepy smile again, just like the one he gave me when I first met him. He then walks over to Clementine and takes off her bindings. "Y'all best get some rest, 'cause there ain't gonna be much for you tomorrow. You're gonna be workin' hard."

Bonnie takes off Rebecca's bindings and points towards the fold-up bed that sits near the wall. "That's for you." She says, as Rebecca turns around and eyes it out.

"Yeah, it would be. Fuckin' Bill. Keeps me out in the cold, but at least I'll be comfortable." Rebecca says, folding her arms and looking at the fold-up bed.

"Hey, guys." A familiar voice says with an uplifting tone.

Rebecca looks over at the man and gasps. "Reggie?!"

Oh, it's Reggie. "Oh, hey Reggie- Holy shit, where's your arm?!" I say, jumping back a little at the one armed figure.

Rebecca walks up to Reggie and gives him a hug. "I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. What did they do to you...?" She asks in fear.

"This could've been worse, trust me. I'm lucky to be alive." He says, looking at his shoulder where the arm was cut off.

"It's my fault." Nick says, looking down. Nick had a habit of blaming himself for things that he felt apart of the fault for.

"No, It's really not. I would tell you if it was. This happened well after you guys left." Reggie says, comforting Nick and looking at his shoulder again. "I guess I should say it's nice to see you, but... this isn't how I wanted it."

I could hear the chatter of Sarah informing Clementine of who Reggie was.

"I know. I feel the same way." Rebecca says, agreeing with Reggie.

"They got me working outside. Lurker snuck up on me while i was hammering something." Reggie says, motioning his head to the left. "Luckily they took the arm off, quick. Saved my life."

Rebecca looks at him with sadness. "That's awful... I'm so sorry."

"Look, it was my choice to help you guys." Reggie says, taking fault.

Tavia walks up behind me and looks up at Alvin. "Alvin. Carver wants you in his office."

Alvin spins around on his heels. "What? Why?" He asks, narrowing his eyebrows.

"Don't make this difficult. It's too late for that." Tavia retorts, looking up at Alvin.

Rebecca pleads with her. "No! Please!"

"It's okay, Bec. Just get some rest. If he wanted to do somethin' to me, he'd have done it already." Alvin says, reassuring Rebecca. "I'll be fine." And with that, Alvin turns to Tavia and starts to walk. "Let's see what he wants."

Troy brushes past me and up to Reggie. "Hey! Reggie!" He yelps.

"Oh... hey, Troy." Reggie responds, clearly not interested in what Troy had to say.

"Don't go fuckin' up now. Bill's real close to lettin' you outta here. You make sure things stay nice and quiet out here tonight, and I'll be sure to let Bill know just how helpful you were." Troy demands.

Reggie nods with slight excitement. "Yeah, you can count on me. Thanks, Troy."

Troy begins to walk off. "Don't mention it."

Bonnie follows along with Troy out of the pen and shuts the gate.

I look over to the group and inform them. "Hey, I'm gonna go get some rest. See you guys in the morning."

They all nod, Sarah gives me a "Goodnight!" along with Clementine as I make my way to the bunk I first slept in when I got here. I take off my thigh holster and put it under my pillow. I climb onto the bunk and lay down, closing my eyes.

I hear the chattering and whispers from the group. They started to get a little louder until a deep voice sprung out.

"Can you guys save it for the morning? Some of us gotta be up early."

I shot myself up and hit my head on the bunk on top of me. "Ah, shit!" I hiss, rubbing my head. It gave me deja vu of when Luke woke me up the first night I came here.

The group look at me in surprise, seeing if I was okay.

"I'm fine, I just... hit my head. I'm fine. Go back to talking or whatever you were doing." I say, rubbing my head and leaning back down while closing my eyes. I turn on my side and open my eyes a little to see a woman with short, brown hair glaring over at the group. It kind of startled me at first, but I calmed myself down.

I eventually started to fall asleep, but as I did, Luke was running through my mind the whole time.

* * *

As I start to wake up, I feel a slight pushing on my shoulder. I open my eyes to see a blurry figure shaking my shoulder to wake me up.

"Get up, Kirsten. Bill wants to speak to everyone." As I finally regain my vision, I see Bonnie standing there with a slight smile.

I shake my head a little and get off the bunk, I rub my eyes and stretch. "Bonnie, why did you come for us?" I whisper.

"Bill forced me, I didn't want to. We'll talk about it more later, you've got your first chore with Clementine and I." She says as we walk over to the group that surrounds Carver, Tavia and Troy. Bonnie leaves the pen and goes back into the building.

Carver clears his throat as he begins to speak. "There's been increased walker activity along the fence so be mindful when outside the walls. The her's moved a little closer as of this morning, but that still doesn't necessarily mean we'll be hit. Know we're monitoring the situation." Carver places his hands on his hips. "Now... There are some folks might be sore about what happened... at how things went. Well, that's all in the past now."

Clementine looks up at with her pokerface as usual and looks back at Carver.

"...some of you are new to our community. Some of you are members who went astray. But know that you can find redemption here... forgiveness... by proving your worth through what will undoubtedly be hard work." Carver blabbers on as he looks towards the group. "Reggie, you're nearly back in. Keep following the path, and we'll welcome you back with open arms." Carver implies, holding out his hands to emphasis his last words.

"How'd you sleep?" A voice comes from the right of me as I turn around to see Sarah ask Clementine. "I was so tired."

"Pay attention..." Clementine says, making sure Sarah didn't get herself into trouble. "We'll talk later, okay?"

"Okay, yeah. Sounds good." Sarah agrees, silence between the two carry on for about three seconds. "I just thought it was nice to finally-"

"Carlos!" Carver yelps, clenching his teeth. Shit...

"Yes?" Carlos responds, looking up at Carver.

"Your child seems to be in need of correction." Carver insists, looking over at Sarah.

Carlos' voice gets shaky. "I'm sorry, I- Sarah, a- apologize to Mr. Carver."

Sarah looks down at the ground and twists her foot a little. "S- I'm... sorry, sir." She says, looking up at him.

Carver shakes his head. "No, no. That ain't gonna cut it. I can't have this kind of behaviour on day one of your reform." He says, then turning his head to Carlos. "You discipline her now, Carlos." He demands, pointing his finger towards a wide eyed Carlos.

"How do you propose that I-"

"One good smack across the mouth should do it. It'll make her think twice before opening it up again. Go on, we'll wait." Carver suggest, cutting Carlos off.

I look towards Sarah and her facial expression says it all. Her eyes are wide and scared. "Carver, she said sorry. Just leave it at that-"

"Would you like one too, Kirsten?" Carver asks, folding his arms.

I scoff. "You wish."

Carver nods. "Oh, yes I do. But you're gonna have to keep your mouth shut for now. Go on, Carlos." He says, turning his attention back to Carlos.

"My... I'm not sure with my hand that I could-"

"Well, that's why you got two hands, Carlos." Carver cuts him off, walking towards Carlos. "Come on. And not some namby pamby thing, alright? A good hard smack." Carver smacks the air inches away from Carlos' face in demonstration. "Otherwise, Troy here will do it for ya. I don't think you want that. He can be... overzealous." Carver turns around to Troy. "Is that the word?" He asks.

"If it means I'll slap the shit out of her, then yeah." Troy responds with a smirk.

Carver turns back around to Carlos. "Go on, Carlos. Just get it over with."

Clementine tries to defend Sarah. "It's my fault!"

"Hey! No one's fuckin' talkin' to you-" Troy is cut off by a simple raise of Carver's hand.

"Unless you want one of what she's about to get, I'd pipe down, missy." Carver insists, looking over at Clementine.

Carver glares back at Carlos, and Carlos nods. Turning around to Sarah. Everyone, including Carver, steps back and away from the two.

"I'm sorry, dad! I'm sorry-"

"Close your eyes honey. It's only going to sting for a second." Carlos assures his daughter, feeling the guilt overwhelm him.

Sarah closes her eyes and tilts her head a little. Carlos shuts his eyes at the thought of hitting his little girl.

"Do it." Carver says, looking at Carlos.

Carlos swings his hand around and slaps Sarah on the face. Sarah falls to the floor and starts to dob, holding her face. "I'm sorry, Sarah-"

"Stop! You're not coddling that girl anymore. Let her sit there and think about what she's done." Carver demands. He looks over at Troy. "Troy, get Carlos to his post. Everyone else should have their assignments. It's time to get to work."

Troy walks up to Carlos and stops by Sarah, looking down at her. "God damn, you really knocked the shit out of her, Doc."

"Everybody to get work!" Carver demands.

Tavia walks up to Clementine and I and motions her gun. "You're both working in the armoury. Follow me." She demands as we start to walk.

"Soil, coming up!" A female voices shouts from on top of the roof as a pallet with a couple bags of soil on top of it.

I bounce back a little, pulling Clementine with me. "Shit..." I mutter.

"Girls!"

* * *

As Clementine and I follow the lead of Tavia, we walk past Shel and Becca.

"Who is this?" Becca asks, glaring at Clementine.

Shel unfolds her arms. "She's one of the new people. She was with Kirsten, and Carlos, and Sarah and-"

"Ugh, Sarah? I wish she'd stayed gone." Becca retorts.

"She's had a hard time, Becca."

"So have we. We're not sitting on the ground like babies." Becca retorts again, folding her arms.

I roll my eyes at Becca and smile at Shel. "Nice to see you again, Shel."

Shel smiles back. "You too, Kirsten."

Becca eyes me up and down. "Ugh, Kirsten."

I bow a little and pretend to tip off my hat. "Satan." I say, leaning back forward and walking. Clementine looks up at me with a confused and offended face. "Don't worry, she's always like that."

As we reach the door to the armoury, Tavia pushes it open. "Go on inside, Bonnie's waiting."

Clementine and I walk inside, sitting down on the plastic chairs.

"Loading magazines again, are we?" I ask Bonnie with a slight smile.

Bonnie nods her head. "Yup." She motions us to the two chairs sitting in front of her. "I guess yous are startin' your day with me." We both sit down on the chair as Bonnie grabs one of the magazines. "Like you said, we're loading magazines."

Clementine and I both grab a magazine and start filling them.

Bonnie looks up at Clementine and smiles. "That's it, you got it." She says, grabbing another handful of bullets. "I suppose I owe you an apology... I wasn't truthful when I came across y'all at the lodge..."

"Wait, what?" I ask in confusion. "You came by the lodge?"

Bonnie nods. "Yeah, Bill told me to scope the place out and I was shown a kindness I never would've expected from a group of strangers." Bonnie looks down at the magazine she's holdin. "But... now folks are dead... and I can't help but feel I'm to blame." She grabs another handful. "But the plan for was no one to get hurt. I truly believe that was the intent."

Clementine looks up at her. "Carver's the one who pulled the trigger... he's to blame."

"Yeah, but... I surely didn't help matters." Bonnie tries to admit fault. "I thought if I was the one that found everyone, I could control it. Keep everyone safe... but that ain't how it went." Bonnie shakes her head and looks at the both of us. "I apologize... which don't account for much, but it's all I can offer right now."

"Hey, Bonnie, It's okay. We get it." I say, assuring her that it wasn't her fault.

Bonnie nods and looks over at Clementine. "How was your first night in the yard?" She asks politely.

"You mean my first night in prison?"

"It ain't a prison. More of a... work release." Bonnie corrects her.

"Didn't they do those in prisons?" Clementine retorts, looking at Bonnie.

Bonnie sounded speechless. "I... probably. I know know... I never been been to prison. Don't tell no one. Tryin' to keep a tough reputation." She says with a jokingly smile, even though she actually never went. "Kirsten knows, but I was supposed to go... when Luke and Carlos and all them left, I was plannin' on leavin' too."

And then it hit me, once I finally forgot about it and focused on my job, she reminded me. Luke. He was still out there, he was still alone. I pray to God that he's okay.

"When Luke approached me about it, I- I thought he was crazy. I mean, we're safe here. We got power, we got food." Bonnie says, loading the magazine. "And Bill, he... he wasn't always like this."

My eyes widen. "He wasn't?" Bonnie shakes her head.

"But you attacked them instead." Clementine hisses.

My jaw drops a little. "Clementine...!" I scowl at her.

"Hey, I didn't attack anyone. Bill did all that. I didn't want... I wasn't expectin' any of that to happen." Bonnie retorts. "I just wanted everyone to be safe. Out there ain't exactly all flowers an' rainbows." Bonnie puts the magazine back on the bench. "I justified not goin' by tellin' myself it's easier to try an' change somethin' that's broken than start all over." She sighs. "Take this situation with the herd... that's the type of thing that rips a community apart. Bill keeps things in line... he's got a lot of this stuff figured out."

"Nobody's safe here with Carver around." Clementine responds to Bonnie.

In which Bonnie says, "You're safe if you stay on his good side."

"I would if I knew where it was." Clementine grumbles.

I nudge Clementine with my elbow a bit and smirk. "Trust me, it's hard to find."

"Luke had ideas about how things should go, but they didn't line up with what Bill was thinkin'... they butted heads, then Rebecca started showin' and that only made things worse..." Bonnie says, filling up another magazine. "Maybe Luke was right about him... I wish he was around, but... I just hope he's safe."

Woah, I'm not sure if that's my 'girlfriend' instincts, but does Bonnie have a thing for Luke? The way she's talking about him kind of makes me think that.

Suddenly, Bonnie's radio goes off. "Hey Bonnie, is that girl down there? I need to come get her." The voice sounded like Tavia's.

Bonnie picks up the walkie talkie and holds it to her face. "Yeah, she's here. Clementine, right?"

"Yeah, it's Clementine. I'll be right over." Tavia responds as she lets go of the walkie's microphone.

Clementine looks at Bonnie with slight fear.

"I'm sure it's fine. Oh, almost forgot. I grabbed this for ya." Bonnie says, grabbing the magazine from Clementine's hands and standing up, walking over to one of the shelves. She pulls off a big, blue puffy jacket and hands it to Clementine.

Clementine puts on the jacket and zips it up.

"Huh? What'd ya think?" Bonnie asks with a smile. "I found it at the lodge where y'all were at. Had to wait until no one was around to grab it."

Clementine looks at Bonnie with a smile. "It's cool. I like it."

Bonnie nods. "Well, I'm glad. I thought it was cute, but I didn't know what you'd think. You better watch yourself. I think some folks might be jealous of that cool jacket of yours." Bonnie says with a slight chuckle.

"Yeah, Sarah might swoon over it." I say with a laugh.

The armoury door swings open and Tavia comes in, looking at Clementine. "Oh, there you are. What's with the ugly jacket?" Tavia smirks.

"Tavia!" Bonnie scowls.

Tavia shrugs. "What?"

Bonnie sighs. "Nevermind. I'll see you later, Clementine."

"Come on." Tavia says, with Clementine following her.

Right now, it's just me and Bonnie in the armoury.

* * *

_**A/N: Hope you guys liked it! I'll be posting another one today and that'll be it until maybe tomorrow or the next day. A review, follow and favourite is much appreciated!**_


	22. Familiar Lips

_**A/N: Enjoy the chapter, y'all could maybe be seeing some Luke/Kirsten in this. You're gonna have to read the chapter, okay? Enjoy!**_

* * *

"Do you have any thought on where Luke might be?"

I shake my head, looking up at Bonnie's green eyes. "I have no clue, and I'm worried. He's been running through my mind all night and day, scared that he might not make it." I shakily say, loading my fourth magazine.

Bonnie's eyes widen. "Kirst, are you and Luke..."

I give her a nod. "Yeah, we're together." I say, grabbing another handful of bullets. Bonnie's face pales a little, her eyes start to look down. "Are you feeling okay, Bonnie?" I ask in concern. I already knew she had a thing for Luke, she hooked me on "Ain't he a charmer?" when I first met her.

"Y-" Bonnie takes a gulp, "-Yeah, I'm fine. I just feel a little sick, probably from last night..." She says, regaining her natural color.

"Okay, good. Don't want you taking spills or anything." I say, making sure she's alright. As much as Bonnie has a thing for Luke, I'd still consider her my best friend. She cared for while I was here last time, gave me advice and even helped us escape. She's a saint in my book, and I doubt that's going to change.

"Yeah, that's true." Bonnie says with a little laugh. "Come on, these magazines are done. Let's go for a walk."

* * *

Bonnie and I went on a walk before she was approached by Troy, telling her to get some nails for Kenny and that guy down at the expansion. So, Bonnie and I got two buckets and started filling them up. I finished the bucket I was filling up, and Bonnie told me to go take them to the boys. She showed me the way, which was through the main area and into the back door to the expansion bit.

"Right through there, it's the last store they're in." Bonnie says, pointing towards the end of the expansion.

"Thanks, Bonnie." I say, starting to walk.

Bonnie gives me a nod along with a smile and closes the door. Troy wasn't in sight on the roof, so I think he's in there with Kenny and that guy.

I walk past the comic book store and hear a thud. I don't think much of it, and just keep walking until I reach the shoe store. I open the door to see Troy, Kenny and that other guy working inside of there.

Kenny was arguing with Troy a little and being disobedient. I walked up to them and handed the bucket of nails over to Troy.

"This all?" Troy asks, looking me up and down again. Sending me that creepy vibe.

I shake my head. "Nope, Bonnie's gonna send someone else later on with the rest."

Troy gives me a nod. "Alright then. Go get back to work." He says, smirking that godawful smile he pulls whenever he sees me.

"It wouldn't kill you to be a little less perverted with your smile, don't you think?" I say, walking off and out of the store.

I close the door and begin to walk, looking to the left of me at the unsteady boards that I jumped over to get in here. Abruptedly, I feel someone tug my arm to the right, pulling my inside the comic book store. The door shuts and I'm propped up against the window that's covered in boards.

"What the-" I'm suddenly cut off by a pair of familiar, soft lips meeting mine. I had no idea who it was, but to be honest, I kind of liked it. Their lips reminded me a lot of... "Luke!" I shout while pulling away from the kiss, then lunging forward and kissing him over and over again.

Luke pulls away and smiles. "Hey, hey, are you hurt or anythin'?" He asks, brushing my fringe out of my eyes. I shake my head and lean forward towards him again, kissing him for maybe the tenth time. "Kirst, I get it, you missed me. But you need to cool it." He says with a laugh, trying to pull me away.

"Never! I will never let go!" I say in a childish, sarcastic and some sort of serious tone, still trying to kiss him. "You have to kiss me in order for me to listen to you." I say, blackmailing him for my own pleasure. Luke raises an eyebrow at me and smiles. "Awh, come on, Luke. You know you want t-"

For a second time, I'm cut off by the sweet sensation of Luke's lips locking into mine. For about a minute or so, we keep kissing until he pulls away.

"Alright listen," Luke starts, letting go of my waist. "I followed y'all here the best I could do, I haven't slept since. You're the first person who knows I'm here, and I've got us a plan to get out of here."

I give him a firm nod, wanting to hear the plan.

"Okay, there's guards everywhere. We won't be able to escape if the guards are watchin'." He informs me, looking me straight in the eyes. "So here's the deal, I'm gonna speak to Clem the first chance I get and she's gonna need to get me one of them radios."

I look at him confused. "Wait, why would you need a radio?"

Luke starts to pace around the room. "I need it so I can tell you guys when there's a clear spot for y'all to escape." Luke's voice starts to quicken, and he starts to zone out a little.

"Uh... Luke? Are you feeling alright?" I ask, walking up to him and placing a hand on his shoulder.

Luke jumps a little and turns around, his face relaxes as his warm, brown eyes meet mine. "Yeah, I'm just... tired..." He says as his eyelids start to weigh down on him.

Thoughts are starting to floor my mind, I tug on Luke's arms and search them for any bite marks. "Luke, are you bit?" I ask, looking around his neck and face.

Luke shakes his head as his eyes widen. "Bit? What, no! I'm not bit, Kirst. I'm fine. I'm just really, _really_ tired."

My eyebrows furrow a little and I let go of his firm, muscular arms. "You need to get some sleep, okay?" I say, giving him a look of concern.

"I will, okay? I'll get some sleep tonight. But first, I need Clementine." He says, returning the hug.

I give Luke a nod, releasing from the hug. "Alright, I'll get her for you. Make sure you don't get caught okay?"

"Yeah, yeah. I won't okay, I promise." He says, giving me a brief kiss on the lips before nudging my out the door. "As much as I'd like you to stay, you gotta go before you get caught yourself. Stay safe, alright Kirst?"

I give him a nod. "I will." I say, closing the comic book store door and walking towards the entrance door.

* * *

"Hey, what took ya so long?"

I look at Bonnie with a smile. "Oh, you know. Just talking to Kenny and all that." I say, bending down to her level as she picks up more of the nails.

Bonnie cocks an eyebrow. "Troy let ya talk to them?" She says, looking up at me.

Oh shit... "Uh, yeah. For some odd reason, you know? He's a creep towards me anyway, so I wouldn't be surprised." I say, sweeping my fringe behind my ears. Nice save, Kirsten.

"Heh, yeah. He does that to Jane, too." She says, smirking.

I cock an eyebrow. "Who's Jane?"

She looks up at me. "You know, the short haired chick who's very quiet?"

Oh, her. "Oh, that girl." I say, furrowing my eyebrows a little.

As I look to the left of me, I see Clementine walking up towards us.

"Here, Kirst. Go take these back to the boys." Bonnie says, standing up and handing my the bucket.

I start to panic a little, remembering that Luke wanted to see Clementine. "Clementine can do it, my leg still hurts a little from Carver..." I say, walking up to Clementine and handing her the bucket. Bonnie follows along with me after agreeing.

"Here, Clem." I say, handing her the bucket of nails. "Take this to the expansion where Kenny and that guy is."

Clementine looks down at the bucket with a sad expression, not even saying anything to us.

"That jacket looks real nice. I don't know what Tavia's walkin' about..." Bonnie insists with a smile as she folds her arms. Clementine still doesn't bat an eye at either one of us, and Bonnie looks at me in concern. "What's wrong?" Bonnie asks, looking at Clementine. "Clem? You alright?" Bonnie raises her hand on her hip. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

"Reggie..." Clementine says, shutting her eyes and wincing her face. "Reggie's dead..."

Bonnie's eyes widen along with mine. "What? What're you talking about?" Bonnie asks in fear.

"What do you mean he's dead?" I ask, bending down to her level. Wincing in pain a little at my leg where Carver kicked me.

"Carver killed him... he pushed him _off the roof_." She says, switching her gaze between Bonnie and I.

Bonnie starts to choke up a little. "Maybe... maybe it was just an accident."

I look up and glare at Bonnie. "We both know that's not true, Bonnie."

Clementine looks down again with sadness.

Bonnie bends down to Clementine's height along with me. "Listen to me. Take this stuff out to those guys and come straight back. Just... Be safe. Okay? Now ain't the time to be callin' attention to yourself." She says, standing up from the ground. "I need to go find out what happened." She says, motioning Clementine to follow her to the back door.

Bonnie swings the back door open and looks up at Troy who's patrolling on the roof. "Hey Troy! Clem's just gonna take them boys some nails." She says, shouting out to inform him.

"Alright." He says, lowering his gun.

"Go on." Bonnie says as she walks back inside where I wait just in front of her. "Come on, let's go find out what happened."

* * *

"Kirsten, Bonnie. What brings you two up here? Does Kirsten need another talk?" Carver implies, recalling the last events before we left the camp.

I roll my eyes, and turn my head over to Bonnie who sits uncomfortably on the chair in Carver's office.

"No, Bill... It's- It's about Reggie." Bonnie replies with a gulp.

Carver slowly paces around the room with his hands behind his back. "What about him?" He asks in a scratchy voice.

"Well, what happened to him?" I ask, propped up against my chair with my arms folded.

Carver stops pacing and walks over to his desk, sitting on the corner of it and eying the both of us. "Well, if you want to know, I'll tell ya. Reggie has been holding us back for a consecutive amount of days, he had been screwing up and not following orders correctly. Killing him, saved all of us from death. Killing one in order to save many is the way of life, now. It's how things are going to be." He says with a gesture of his hand.

"He didn't deserve to die, though. Why wouldn't one of your 'talks' that you had with me, not have worked on him?" I ask, raising an eyebrow.

Carver shakes his head. "I've had plenty of talks to Reggie about shaping up, but he didn't seem to understand. He was weak, very weak. And I'm not talking about the loss of his arm, I'm talking about him being weak of character. Weak of not being able to correct those who need it."

"Bill, don't you think that's a little harsh?" Bonnie implies.

Carver goes on about all that junk and I zone out a little, peering over my shoulder. I see a bloody, big figure laying lifeless in the chair.

"Holy shit, Alvin?!" I yelp, jumping out of my chair. "Carver, what the hell did you do?!" I say, not realizing that I interrupted him.

"Oh, he passed out earlier. He can't hear a single thing you're saying." Carver says, leaning back into his chair. "Now I'm gonna need you both to leave, I got Rebecca comin' up here in a minute or two." Carver says, gesturing his hand towards the door.

I look over at Bonnie and we exchange looks of concern. Coming to a conclusion, we both leave the room and head downstairs.

"Bonnie, we gotta leave." I say, turning around to her. "We need to get everyone out of here."

Bonnie shakes her head. "I don't know, alright? We'll figure this out later."

I look to her with a concerned look. "Later might be too late."

* * *

_**A/N: Hope you enjoyed the chapter! Sorry if it's a little short. Anyway, a review, follow and favourite is much appreciated!**_

_**-Inf.**_


	23. It's Now or Never

_**A/N: Only one chapter for today, sorry! I was meant to update in the morning, but when I opened up Youtube I got distracted for about the whole day. heh. Hope you enjoy the chapter!**_

* * *

Just as I'm walking to the pen, I see a female guard opening the pen gate for Clementine. I quickly jog up to her and wait for the gate to open.

I keep looking at Clementine while we walk up, peering over my shoulder a few times to see if the guard had finally left. And when she did, that's when I bursted out in curiosity. "Did you talk to Luke?" I spit out, bending down at her level and placing my hands on her shoulders.

Clementine jumps back a little, her eyes widen and she gives me a nod. "Y - Yeah I did..." She says, holding her hands up.

I shake my head. "I'm not going to hurt you, Clem." I say, removing my hands from her shoulders and standing up. "Come on, let's go sit down."

We both walk towards the plastic chairs that circle the campfire, hearing Kenny and the group discussing something about walkers.

"'Cause we all know what happened this mornin'! I dunno what that sonuvabitch is gonna do next!" Kenny implies, throwing his hands in a fit of rage.

That guy intervenes. "So you wanna ring the dinner bell for a herd of walkers to show up? How is that better?" He asks, trying to shut down Kenny's plan.

"'Cause this place'll fuckin' chaos when that thing hits. No one'll be payin' attention to us." Kenny predicts as Clementine and I take a seat on the hard, cold plastic chairs. "And that's when we go. That's our opening. We just gotta figure out a way to draw 'em to us."

Rebecca turns her head to Clementine and I. "Your friend here wants to get us killed by lurkers before Bill can do it." She says, directing her speech to Clementine.

Kenny angers up a little. "What is it with you?" He asks, looking over at Rebecca.

"That's what it sounds like to me." She retorts.

Sarita chimes in with a slight smile to Rebecca. "You know that's not what he's saying, but... it does sound dangerous."

"This shit is all dangerous!" Kenny spits out.

"Kenny! Do not speak to me like that." Sarita demands, taking her tone a little higher.

Kenny gives her a small nod. "Okay, okay. Sorry."

"Maybe Luke could help us... he's outside. He wants a radio to help keep an eye on the guards." Clementine suggests, making me recall the moments in the comic book store.

"Thank you! That's the plan I vote for." Rebecca says, sighing in relief.

My eyes widen a little. "You guys spoke to Luke, too?" I ask, looking around the group.

The man, that I still don't know his name, answers my question. "He flagged us down when Troy wasn't lookin'. Told us his plan... Mentioned he talked to you and the little one."

Yeah, right... we 'talked'. A grin spreads across my face.

Rebecca interrupts my thoughts. "If Luke can tell us what's goin' on with the guards, we can use that to pick a good time to escape."

Sarita nods. "That seems reasonable."

Kenny flails his arms up ever so slightly. "Who knows when that'll be?" He implies, trying to shut down the most safest plan. "There was a girl back at Crawford that used church bells to send walkers all over the city. We just need somethin' really loud."

Sarita turns her head to Kenny. "The P.A system Carver is always using is quite loud."

The man adds on. "There's some speakers outside the building... pointed towards the parking lot. I saw 'em when we were walking out to the work. Troy's always standing next to one of 'em."

Clementine nods. "He's right, I saw them too."

Kenny's expression grew bigger as if he'd thought of an idea. "Really..." he mumbles.

"It's all controlled in Bill's office. There's a switch in there that'll turn them on." Rebecca jumps in, staring at the campfire.

I look up at her. "I saw them when I went in there with Bonnie."

"That's perfect! We just gotta get into his office. Why didn't you say somethin' sooner?" Kenny asks Rebecca with a victorial expression.

Rebecca shakes her head. "'Cause it doesn't change anything. This isn't a discuss on how to do it, it's a discussion about whether it's stupid. And it's still stupid. The sensible thing is to get Luke the radio and wait for an opening."

Kenny narrows his eyebrows. "You're real difficult to deal with sometimes."

"Kenny..." Sarita mutters.

"No, that's alright. You ain't exactly a peach either." Rebecca retorts in a calm tone.

"Guys... Can we not do this right now?" I say, creating silence between the group.

Clementine suggests. "We should get the radio to Luke. It doesn't hurt to have more information."

"I agree." Sarita says, nodding her head at Kenny.

Kenny sighs. "Fine, fine. We can do that, but the herd is still our best shot. Maybe Luke can tell us where it's hittin' from." He bundles the information up. "Okay, so we get that turd a radio-"

"Luke. His name's Luke, asswipe." I grumble.

"...Luke, whatever. He keeps us posted on the herds movement. We fire up the P.A thing and bring walkers to roll over this place." Kenny continues.

"And then what?" The man asks, gesturing a hand.

"Get some guns and shoot our way out. I don't know! Whatever we can! We improvise." Kenny suggests.

The man shakes his head firmly. "Then that's not a plan. You don't plan to improvise."

"I figured out what your problem is, you don't think this stuff through. If the end of the plan is just a stroll through a herd of lurkers, then you should know from the jump, there's no way it's ever going to work." Rebecca insists, even though that's not all that true.

"Actually... I do it all the time." The woman, known as Jane, emerges from the shadows.

Silence drew in the group.

"First words I ever hear you say, and it's just some crazy, stupid shit." The man says, looking over at Jane.

Sarita looks over at him, "Hush." Then back to Jane. "What do you mean exactly?" She asks.

"Wait, you guys don't know?" I ask, looking at the group.

Jane raises a hand on her hip. "When you cover yourself in their smell... rub the walker guts all over you. They can't tell you form one of them."

Rebecca's jaw drops. "Now I don't know who's crazier."

"Trust me, I've walked through herds before. It works. You just have to keep calm, and make sure you're good and covered." Jane explains.

I nod and look around at the group. "She's not lying. When I was killing the walkers to first get in here, I was getting covered with their blood. I just had to walk through the remaining ones." I explain, gesturing my hand. "I couldn't cut any of them open because they were all too close to me. But, I'm sure we could do it now."

Clementine turns back to the group. "Lee figured that out, too."

"Really?" I ask, spinning my head towards her.

She nods. "Yeah, it's how we got out of the Marsh House. Lee covered me and we walked right through."

Kenny shakes his head in disbelief. "Holy shit. Good one, Lee."

Wait, Kenny knew Lee too?

Kenny stands up from his seat. "Alright! What are we waitin' for. Let's get that stupid radio!" He cheers in excitement.

"We still need to find a way to get into the stockroom." Rebecca implies.

"I've got a plan for that, too." Jane says, just before brushing past Clementine. "Come on, Kid. Gonna need your help."

* * *

"We just need to use the winch... She can just climb up from there. Then just drop into one of the skylights over the stockroom. There are shelves and stuff for you to land on, so... you probably won't fall to your death." Jane says as we all crowd around her.

"Great." Clementine shrugs.

"That thing breaks all the time. Unless something's changed, it won't support much weight." Rebecca says, folding her arms.

Kenny looks at Clementine. "Come on. Up and at 'em."

"Don't push her, Kenny." Sarita insists.

"She's our best bet. I mean that, Clem." Kenny retorts.

Clementine looks up at him. "It's now or never." She says.

"Thatta girl." He responds. "We gotta get that rope down. Mike, you wanna boost her up?" He asks, looking over at the man.

Oh, so his name is Mike.

Mike walks to the winch. "Come on, kid." Clementine follows him and he boosts her up.

"Don't let go." She firmly says, getting a grip on the rope.

He nods. "I got you."

Clementine tightens her grip on the rope and pulls it down, one pull at a time. The hook lifts off the roof and weighs down, slowly gliding to the ground as Mike puts Clementine down. Clementine puts her foot on the hook and grabs the rope while Mike grabs the other end to get ready and pull.

He starts to pull the rope, and Clementine goes up. "Try to hurry, alright? I don't think they're the sharpest guards in the world, but they're no idiots, either." He says, giving her his view on the guards.

Suddenly, we hear someone starting to unlatch the gate.

"Shit, he's comin' back! I gotta let you go, I can't stand here. Grab something!" He whispers as everyone runs back to their bunks.

Clementine jumps off the rope and quickly grabs the top half of the broken ladder, her body slamming into it. But she shakes it off.

Mike and I run back, but we don't make it to our bunks in time. We quickly sit down on the plastic chairs and settle in quickly before the gate slides up.

Troy looks at the both of us and we nonchalantly look over to him.

"Oh, hey there, Troy." I say with a little wave.

"Why aren't you two in bed?" He asks, walking over to us as he nudges his AK-47.

Mike and I look at each other in silence, unable to think of an excuse.

"Uhhmm, we were just talking about... our chores for tomorrow." I lie, hoping that he'll believe me.

Troy squints his eyes a little at us. He was too stupid _not_ to believe it, anyway. "Alright. Y'all better get some rest soon, though. We ain't gonna let y'all sleep in tomorrow." He informs us.

We give him a brief nod and he leaves the pen, shutting the gate and locking it.

* * *

"Where the hell is she?" Kenny asks, lying down on his bunk.

Sarah shrugs her shoulders. "I hope she's okay." She says, rolling over on her side.

Suddenly, we hear a noise.

"Psst."

Mike, who's standing by the winch looks up and spots Clementine. "You get 'em?" He asks, peeking over at the gate just in case any guards were near by.

Clementine nods her head, still clinging on to the ladder.

Mike walks under the ladder and holds out his hands. "Okay, jump down. I got you."

Clementine scoots down the ladder a little bit and jumps off, landing in Mike's arms and he gently puts her down.

"We best get in bed. Troy'll be back any minute." Mike says, walking over to his bunk.

Clementine follows close behind him as I rest on my elbows and ask. "You get 'em, Clem?" Clementine gives me a nod, along with a smile. "Good. Gimmie one."

She spins around on her heels and walks over to my bunk, handing me one of the walkie talkies. "Don't lose it." She says with a smile.

I smile back and put it under my pillow. I notice that my thigh holster was still under there, so I grab it and attach it to my thigh. It wouldn't hurt to put it back on, would it? What if I got my knife back? I eventually relax my body and turn on my side, shutting my eyes.

The only thing that ran through my mind, conquered all my thoughts, and stopped me from thinking straight... was Luke. I hope he's safe in there, I hope he's getting some rest, I hope I could sneak out and go to him, but I couldn't.

This place was starting to turn into something worse than the walkers. Walkers don't kill each other, people kill each other.

* * *

**_A/N: Hope you enjoyed the chapter!_**

**_Yeah, I'm gonna be 'that' type of person and say I'll be posting the next chapter at 50-55 reviews. (sorrynotsorry) _**

**_But I will start reading out 5 hand picked reviews from the chapter! So basically leave a review for a shoutout. ;)_**

**_-Inf._**


	24. Lives On The Line

_**A/N: Hope you enjoy the chapter! It'll definitely be different from the episode since Kirsten is added.**_

* * *

We all stare down at the radio placed on the platform that's about hip height. The one that Clementine grabbed is under her pillow, ready for tonights departure from the camp and the one Clementine gave me was right in front of us.

"Alright, we're all here." Kenny states as the others come marching towards the little huddled group.

"Someone's gotta get the radio out to Luke. What's the problem?" Rebecca asks, staring at the radio.

"We should probably figure out who's doin' what before we-" Kenny gets cut off by the pen gate being unlatched and opened.

The group turns around to see Tavia walking into the pen just after Kenny grabs the radio and hides it behind him.

Tavia, unfazed by the morning walks forward. "Time to get up. Daylight's burnin'. They let you sleep in, all things considered." She says, before assigning people to their chores.

"Where's my dad?" Sarah innocently asks, looking at up Tavia.

Tavia lightly raises an eyebrow. "He's where the rest of you are goin'. To work." She implies, glaring back at Sarah. "Rebecca, Nick, Sarah, Jane... If you gotta take a piss, do it now. The next break won't be for a while." Tavia turns around, ready to leave the pen. "Troy'll be comin' up for the rest of you."

Kenny looks over at me in confusion. "Why just them?" He asks, looking back at Tavia.

"Like I said, Troy'll be comin' for the rest of you." Tavia retorts, motioning along the others.

As Rebecca, Nick, Sarah and Jane follow Tavia out of the pen, one of the guards near by shuts the gate and latches it back up.

Kenny turns around back to the group, finalizing the plan. "Alright, look. If we're gonna do somethin', we have to do it NOW, and if Luke's all we got, then we pair up with him."

Mike jumps in, pulling his hand out to Kenny for the walkie talkie. "I can do it. Where's the meetin'?" He asks.

"Mike..." Kenny looks over at me with a worried expression.

"Yeah?" He replies, folding his arms.

"Clementine or Kirsten should do it." Kenny says, looking at the both of us.

Mike's eyes widen and he unfolds his arms. "Are you fuckin' kidding?"

Silence drew between the four of us a minor crashing sound came from inside the main-area. We all look back, just in case Troy had came near the gate, luckily, he wasn't there.

"Gimmie the radio, I'll do it." I say, holding out my hand. As Kenny is just about to hand me the radio, Mike butts in.

He folds his arms and glares at Kenny. "Why can't I do it? She's gonna screw up the plan."

I raise an eyebrow and look up at him. "Are you fucking serious? How am I going to screw up the plan? You're the one that's most likely going to get caught." I retort, folding my arms.

"Hey, just because I don't like her doesn't mean I don't trust her. She knows where to go, Luke is her boyfriend, she ain't that big, either. It'll be easier for her to hide." Kenny says, catching up to my defense. He had a pretty good argument there, although Clementine would be able to hide easier, we can't risk Carver doing something to her if she's caught.

"Who cares?!" Mike retorts, not even glancing at me.

"And I'm sorry, Mike. But I don't know you from fuckin' Adam. Alright?" Kenny flushes back at him. I agreed with him there, we hardly know this guy. He could go on ahead and tell Carver what we're doing. "And if I'm trustin' someone to do somethin' this important, it's her." Kenny says, glancing over at me.

I give a nod of approval, and smile. Kenny isn't all that bad, he's just got a temper on him. I'm thankful that he trusts me, because even though we didn't like each other at the start, he's still got high hopes for me.

"Kenny's right. Kirsten should do it, they won't suspect her of doing anything wrong." Clementine speaks up, switching her gaze between Mike and I.

Mike unfolds his arms. "Don't say somethin' stupid just to get some respect."

Kenny didn't take a liking to that, his eyebrows furrowed and he glared at Mike. "She doesn't need your respect!" He hisses in a whisper, not to draw any suspicion.

"Give me the radio." He retorts, glaring at Kenny.

Suddenly, the gate opens and we could hear Troy's voice. "Alright little chickens, let's get to peckin'." He says, walking into the pen.

"Alright." Mike agrees unwillingly.

Kenny's hand is still clutched onto the radio as Troy continues to speak. Clementine glances over at me after taking a look at the radio, and I give her a feared expression back. Troy might notice it... shit, shit, shit!

"Got that?" Troy barks at Clementine and I. "I'm afraid I need an answer, girls." He says, glaring at us while his tone is firm.

I stay silent, not giving him an answer to provoke him a little. Piss him off, at the least.

"Whatever." Clementine mutters under her breath, looking away from him. Who knew a little girl like her had so much sass?

Troy spins around on his heels and heads for the gate. "Come on." He strikes in a fierce tone.

As Troy has his back to us, Kenny moves a little closer towards me and hands the radio over to me from behind our backs.

"Put it in your back pocket or somethin'." Kenny whispers as he moves away from me.

I tuck it into the back of my pants with my t-shirt over it. I fluke it as I try to keep my eyes forward so I don't draw any suspicion. The guard that unlatched the gate eyes me down a little, but I ignore it and keep walking.

* * *

As we approach the back door, leading out into the expansion, Bonnie waddles over and stops Troy.

"Hey, they're with me." She says, pointing towards me. Shit, how am I supposed to get the radio over to Luke?

Troy shakes his head. "Oh, shit. I almost forgot." He says, looking back at Bonnie.

Bonnie slowly shakes her head and folds her arms. Giving a sarcastic "Yeah." response to him.

Troy shrugs his shoulders, hitting Clementine a little on the black of the head with AK047 he has in his hand. "Well, take 'em, then. I don't care." He says, after nudging my butt with the tip of the AK-47. I stumble forward a bit and glare at him as he gives me that creep, godawful smirk.

"Wait, wait. What's goin' on?" Kenny asks, looking towards Troy and Bonnie.

Exactly. What the hell _is_ going on? Do they know about the plan? Does Bonnie know about Luke?!

"Just chores of a different sort." Bonnie explains, looking over at Kenny as she unfolds her arms. "Come on, city mice." She says, walking off towards the armoury.

That's a relief. At least Bonnie won't stare at me like the pervert, Troy is.

"Can't you cut 'em a break?" Kenny says, stepping forward. Bonnie stops in her tracks and looks back at him. "They'd really rather keep with us... people they know..." He says in a abnormal tone.

Oh god, Kenny. Don't blow it... don't blow it!

"It's nothin' that'll hurt 'em." Bonnie says, shaking her head at the thought.

"Okay." Clementine says, looking up at me with her pokerface. She peers over her shoulder to Kenny and says sweet nothings. "It's okay."

And with that, Clementine, Bonnie and I walked to the armoury.

"I just wanted to make sure you were alright." Bonnie says, looking over at Clementine. "You and I originally had the first chore together." She says, looking over at me.

Bonnie continues to talk to Clementine for a bit while we walk to the armoury. I didn't know how to tell Bonnie, or _if_ I should tell Bonnie. I'm sure she'd let me go to him. She helped us escape the first time, I know that she'll let me go. She's got to...

"You look anxious, girls. Somethin' the matter?" Bonnie asks as I shake my head and get back into reality.

Clementine and I just stare at her, until she opens the armoury door and motions her hand for us to follow. We both walk in, looking around us to see if anyone was watching us, or approaching as we entered.

The door shuts and Bonnie spins around on her heels. "Y'all know you can talk to me, right? You guys are startin' to scare me a little." She says with a nervous laugh, switching her gaze from looking down and Clementine and up at me. Bonnie folds her arms, looking down as she shakes her head. "I was dishonest when I first met you, Clementine. But I swear on everything holy that'll never happen again. You too, Kirsten."

I look down at Clementine and she gives me a nod. "Yeah, show her." She whispers.

I pull the radio out from the back of my pants and show it to her and Bonnie's eyes start to widen. "Bonnie, Luke is here. He's outside in the comic book store waiting for me to give him this." I say, looking up at her with furrowed eyebrows.

"Kirsten..." She sighs, folding her arms.

I nod my head, putting the radio back into my pants. "I know, I know. And all we need you to do is sit back, relax, and not worry about where we are for fifteen minutes."

Bonnie thinks about the situation for a moment before coming to a conclusion. "If you get caught, and you mention my name, Carver will be the least of your troubles." She threatens as she looks at us. I knew she wasn't going to actually hurt us, Bonnie could never bring herself to do so, so I just shrug it off. "Well, what are you waitin' for?" She exclaims, pointing towards the armoury door.

"Thank you." Is the last words I spoke to Bonnie as Clementine and I ran out of the armoury.

* * *

Clementine and I slowly shut the back door, crouching down and hiding behind the crates only four feet away from it. Troy paces in and out of the door where Mike and Kenny are working on the expansion.

"Alright, I'm gonna sneak past Troy, go inside give him the radio and come straight out. You staying or are you coming?" I explain as I ask her where she stands on the plan. Looking around where Troy was.

Clementine thinks for a moment. "I'll come in, if Troy turns around and sees me, we're done for." She says, looking up at me through her eyelashes.

I give her a firm nod and motion my hand along for her to follow, as I crouch down and walk up to the comic book store. As we make it to the door, Troy leans against the frame of the entrance to the shoe store right beside us.

"Y'all better hurry that shit up. I hate babysittin' you assholes." He shouts to the boys in the store, folding his arms with a smug look on his face.

"In." I whisper ever so slightly to Clementine, as we push open the doors and tip toe inside.

I enter in first with Clementine behind me, leaving the door open in case of a quick escape. "Luke? You there?" I loudly whisper, enough for him to hear me. No response. Clementine looks at me in concern. "Luke? Come out, it's us."

"It's safe to come out, we promise." Clementine says, walking over to the large splat of blood on the store floor. "Kirsten..." She says, motioning me over.

I waddle over to her, looking down at the stain of dark blood. "Oh god... No, wait. That looks old... really, really old." I say, trying to deny any fact of him being caught, or hurt.

"I'm sure he's okay." Clementine says, walking around the store. "Luke, if you're hiding, come out!"

I slowly tip toe to where a pile of blankets and pillows where. "I think he was sleeping here? There's more blankets and stuff in those boxes. He probably got them from there." I say, as Clementine walks over to me.

Suddenly, the door swings open and Troy enters, glaring at both of us. We both run up to him, trying to cover up us sneaking around but he was furious. "I swear to Christ you're gonna regret this!" He spits out, swinging his hand across Clementine's face.

"Don't fucking touch her!" I hiss at him as I step forward and push towards the door. He stumbles, but regains himself as he thrusts the back of his hand towards my jaw. I grab my face and wince in agony as he grabs Clementine and I by the back of our necks and pulls us out of the store.

"You people been here one fuckin' day and you're already fuckin' up. Well you wait an' see what happens!" He shouts at us, as we approach Mike and Kenny who are standing by the back door. He throws Clementine and I forward towards them both and hisses. "MOVE."

"Hey!" Kenny barks, clenching his teeth and glaring at Troy.

We back into the main area, and as we do, I can't help but feel the stinging pain on the side of my jaw.

* * *

The pen gate opens, and Troy forces us inside. "Get over there." He hisses.

I kept my focus on the ground the whole time I was walking, until I looked up to see the group crowding around a muscular figure on the ground. I move my head to the side a little, since Sarita was blocking my view to see Carlos attending to Luke.

"Luke!" I loudly whisper, running towards him. I finally step in front of him to see cuts on his face. "What the hell happened?" I asked, taking a look at his face.

He stayed silent, and glared up at Carver who was pacing around and scolding the group.

"-and how is it that we're repaid for our trust? With treachery...? With deceit...? With theft!" Carver continues, still pacing around.

Carlos looks towards me. "Go to Clementine, Kirsten. It's okay, I'll take care of him."

I give him a nod, walking back next to Kenny as they hear in on Carver's speech.

"Did you know about this?" Clementine asks Kenny, looking up at him with her big amber eyes.

Kenny, sadly, shakes his head and looks down at the ground. There's something he wasn't telling us...

I look back towards Carver to see him holding up a radio, eying the group. "Whatever you were planning is over... it's done. You can't just run away from your problems. You can just up and leave when it gets tough... 'cause there's no where else you can go where it ain't. Tough is all we got, now. Get that through your fuckin' skulls." He says, walking around at the group and eying everyone out.

Carver turns around, walking to the spot he originally was. "Luke here, he can't help you now... you gotta help me, find the strength to forgive you. Now you can start... by telling me where the other one is."

I suddenly feel a reign of fear flow over me, my palms start to sweat. I can feel my hands starting to shake as I continue to listen to Carver's demands.

"I'm gonna count to three. If that radio ain't in my hand by then, we'll have to make things more difficult." He demands, looking at all of us with disgust. "One."

I have to give it to him... If I don't, he'll hurt anyone of us... I put my hands behind my back and pull out the radio, I go to lift up my hand to give it to him. "Two."

"Here, I ha-"

"I got it right here!" Kenny snatches the radio out of my hand, lifting it up into the air and cutting me off. Carver holds out his hand, wanting the walkie talkie.

I stare up at Kenny with wide eyes. "What are you doing?!" I whisper, as my jaw drops.

"It's alright, I promise." He whispers back, walking up to Carver.

Sarita walks over to him and stops him, giving a look of concern to him.

"It's alright..." He whispers, continuing to walk back up to him. "Sorry about that... Not sure what I was thinking." Kenny lifts his hand up just a few inches above Carver's and slowly drops it into his hand.

"Three." Carver finishes, glaring at Kenny.

There was silence throughout the pen, waiting and watching for the events to unfold.

Kenny shakes his head and glares at Carver with a smirk. "...heh, fucker."

Carver, with radio in hand, lifts his arm up and clashes it into the left side of Kenny's face. Causing blood to spurt out as he falls to the concrete floor.

Sarita gasps, looking at the love of her life being pounded into. "No!"

Carver smashes Kenny's face for a second time as he huddles over him.

"Jesus Christ, stop!" Nick blurts out, watching the unfaithful events occur.

Carver takes another blow, hitting him on the left side of his face continually.

"Stop him! Somebody stop him!" Sarita demands, running towards Kenny. Carlos stops her just in time, trying to hold her back. "Let me go!" She hisses, wailing her arms towards Kenny.

Blow after blow, Carver repeatedly hits him.

"Stop! Clementine, help me!" Carlos demands, trying to hold Sarita back.

"You don't have to do this, Bill!" Nick insists.

Clementine ignores Carlos' demands and goes running after Kenny. She's suddenly stopped by the end of Troy's AK-47 meeting her face as she falls to the floor in pain.

"Clementine!" I hiss out, watching her roll on the floor.

I'm not going to let Kenny die, no fucking way. If he can save my life, I can save his. I immediately feel an adrenaline rush kick into my body, I start to sprint towards Kenny, dodging Troy's attempt to hit me as he did with Clementine.

"Kirsten, stop!" I hear Luke's voice cry out, but I ignore it.

Just as Carver lifts up his arm to hit Kenny for the tenth time, I force my two hands onto his one arm and hold it back, trying to snatch to radio out of his hand. But he was too strong, he pushes me off of his arm and I stumble back, succeeding to not fall over. Carver lets go of Kenny's shirt, using his fist to attempt to hit me, but I duck under it. With as much force as I could, I lift up my fist and bash it right into his face. He stumbles around, trying to regain himself. As he does, elbows me in the stomach. I feel the wind escape my body as he knocks it out of me and I fall onto the ground.

"Don't hurt her!" I hear Luke cry out. Clutching my stomach, I rest up on my elbow and look up. Watching Nick hold Luke back as he tries to struggle out of his grasp.

I look up to see Carver, standing over me with his teeth clenched and his fist in the air. I see it come flying down on my face before everything suddenly turns blurry, my hearing starts to fade out as I hear the cries out of the group.

With the little vision I have left, I see Carver walk backwards as Bonnie comes rushing towards him.

Then black started to cloud my vision.

* * *

_**A/N: You have no idea how bad I felt when I wrote this. /3 I really hope you guys enjoyed it! Feel free to share it with family or friends or anything that like that. I feel as if the "I'll post at (x) reviews" little thing isn't really needed, since I felt bored and stuff when I didn't write for a couple days. Instead, I'll just read out some reviews!**_

_Driftingawayfromreality__chapter 23 . Jul 6_

_Such a good chapter as always!The last ones to since I haven't been able to review in a really amazing chapter and I hope you get these reviews soon cause if not I'm gonna die from lack of chapters!(just kidding but I'll be sad and you don't want a sad jasmine!It will be horrible!)Amazing story and as always love KristenxLuke_

**_Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it and I'm glad for the constant support! It means a ton to see people loving the ship. :) (I'm not gonna see a sad Jasmine, I'll make sure of that) Happy reading!_**

_AquaDestinysEmbrace__chapter 23 . Jul 6_

_So Kirsten knows about the walker guts!_

**_Haha, yep! She does! Thanks for the constant reviews and support my good friend._**

_jennn18__chapter 23 . Jul 6_

_Another great chapter :) Loving this story! You deserve more favs & follows._

**_Thank you! I'm more than glad that you love the story. Thanks for the review!_**

_SkarlettVonD__chapter 22 . Jul 5_

_Awww this is so cute :3 lol its an amazing story - can't wait for your next update_

**_Thanks for the review! I'm happy you think it's an amazing story._**

_margyri__chapter 22 . Jul 4_

_Yay! 3 new chapters. I always get so excited when I see this at the top on my favorites list:D _  
_I was so worried Luke was bit when he showed up in episode 3! D: I think they did that to torture us on purpose. _  
_Great update as always:) I'm so glad Kirsten and Luke are finally reunited! And I can't wait to see how things go when they try to escape with Kirsten involved._

**_Thanks for the review, my friend! I'm very thankful for your support and criticism in other reviews. (By the way, update your awesome fanfiction!)_**

**_I personally thank everyone who gives me support and love from my fanfiction. Who knew that an idea I thought of while trying to fall asleep one night turned into something many people enjoy! Hope you all stay by my side with this fanfiction._**

**_-Inf._**


	25. The Monster Within

_**A/N: Hope you guys enjoy this chapter! It's going to be super long just to finish up Episode 3. I won't be updating this fanfiction until Episode 4 comes out. While you're waiting for Episode 4, feel free to check out my other TWDG Fanfiction 'Teenaged Years'. You won't regret it!**_

* * *

Slowly, I come to the little senses I have at the moment. The right side of my face is excruciating pain that tingles in my cheek and upper jaw. My eyes wouldn't let me open them, they feel heavy and keep dragging down every time I can. The only thing I can do is take little glimpses every time I try to open my eyes.

"Luke, I can't examine her if you keep huddling over her." I hear a muffled voice from the left of me say as they place their hands on my face.

"I'm sorry, man. I'm just worried, alright?" Another muffled voice from the left of me says, taking their hands off my figure.

"It's alright, Luke. Just go sit back down, I'll take care of her." The voice from the left of me says, as my eyelids start to feel heavier and heavier until I drift back off to sleep.

* * *

By the time I woke up, everyone was sitting down on the plastic chairs around the campfire as it sizzled and popped.

"Uhh. Oww... dang it." A little voice from the right of me winced as they sat up, holding on to their face.

"Holy shit, Clem are you okay?" I ask, jumping out of the bunk but falling on to the ground. My legs felt like they were weak like jelly, I couldn't stand for a brief moment. "Ah, fuck..."

I look up to the campfire to see Luke bolting over towards me. "Hey, hey, hey, are you okay? Are you alright?" He asks, kneeling down besides me.

"I'm- I'm fine... It's alright..." I mumble, standing up to my feet with Luke's help. Suddenly, the pain on the right side of my face struck me again. "Shit, that hurts a lot..." I yelp, clutching my face.

"Hey, Kirst. Lay back down, alright? You gotta rest." Luke insists, trying to rest me back on to the bunk.

I shake my head and resist the urge. "No, I'm fine. Let's just go sit down."

Luke wraps his arm around the small of my back as he lifts mine around his shoulders. "Y'sure?" He asks, looking down at me.

I give him a brief nod. "I'm sure."

Luke helps me walk over to the campfire where he sits me down on one of the cold, hold plastic chairs. He pulls his arms out from under me, and sits on the plastic chair beside me. I look over to see Sarita bawling her eyes out, with Rebecca comforting her. Nick sits down silently as Clementine walks up to the group, she looks over at the pen gate to see Mike talking to someone inside the main-area. I assume it's Bonnie, I could see her red hair through the holes of the gate.

Mike comes walking over to the rest of us and sits down on one of the plastic chairs.

"What'd she say?" Rebecca asks, switching her gaze from Sarita to Mike.

"She said she can get us out of the pen as soon as we get the PA system going. Second she hears it, she'll run over and spring us." He replies, looking towards her.

My eyes widen. "Wait, Bonnie's helping us escape? Is she gonna come with us this time?" I ask, looking at the gate to see Bonnie patrolling.

"Yeah, she's comin'." Luke nods. I can still see the cuts and bruises around his face from Carver, damn, it looked like it hurt.

Rebecca jumps back into the conversation. "That's great." She insists, referring to the plan.

"It's not great." Luke retorts, looking up at her.

"What're you talking about?" Rebecca asks, glaring at him with confusion.

"Look, I know part of this is my fault- I know. I was hungry, I got reckless tryin' to steal some food and I got caught..." Luke confesses, looking down at the ground with his sad, puppy dog eyes.

"We can't stay here!" Clementine insists, glaring over at Luke.

Rebecca looks over to Clementine in agreement. "Exactly. We got no idea how long Alvin's got before Bill just kills him. We have to leave now."

"Look, I hear what you're sayin', but it's risky." Luke says, looking over at Rebecca.

Nick nods his head and looks over to the group. "It is pretty damn risky, guys."

"Risky? Did you just see what that sonuvabitch just did? Look, the plan works. Nothing needs to be changed. It's all set up. The hard part is done. This guy's fuckin' crazy. Who knows what he'll do next." Mike says, looking over at Luke with furrowed eyebrows.

He's got a point there. All the hard stuff is over, we just need to get that PA going, and we're good to go.

"Yeah, but now we're dealing with a guy beat to shit, Sarita in no shape to do anything, Kirsten can barely stand on her two feet, and I'm a goddamn mess. Look, we should rest up, okay? We should bide our time, and wait for an opening." Luke insists as he pleads his suggestion.

"Bonnie's agreed to help us tonight." Mike retorts.

"And that doesn't mean she can't do it some OTHER night."

"I don't know, guys... Luke's makin' sense. Maybe we should wait." Nick suggest, resting his elbows on the armrest of the plastic chair.

Rebecca demands "We're NOT waiting."

"Ain't nothin' out there, guys. Trust me, I looked! There's no food, no supplies. They picked everythin' clean. I'm just sayin', we gotta be sensible about this." Luke retorts.

"He's right. We need to rest up so we don't screw up when we need to hit the road." I insist, rubbing my forehead with my hand.

Clementine looks over at Luke, still standing up. "Where's Kenny?" She asks him.

"Doc's over there workin' on him, it don't look good." He replies, looking back at Clementine.

I feel so guilty... If I had just walked up to him and handed it to him, Kenny wouldn't have taken it off me. He'd still be okay, even if I payed the price for it.

Carlos walks back over to the group, shaking his head a little as he does. Sarita's sobs still cross through my mind, as she holds her head into her hands. I feel so sorry for her...

"This is what I'm talkin' about. We're in no shape to go now." Luke says, trying to get his point across.

"You better fix him... you better." Clementine says, her face full of hurt as she looks towards the ground. I can see the wound from where Troy hit her with his gun. Fucking asshole.

"I'm doing my best." Carlos softly replies, looking over to Clementine as he shrugs. "His orbital is crushed... I don't think there is much hope for the eye... I got him as stable as I could, cleaned it, got some of the swelling down, bandaged it as best I could... But, until he wakes up... we won't know if there's any damage to the brain."

Sarita's sobs and cries grow louder, it kills me inside and I feel like it's all my fault.

"I don't think there is any damage to it, though. Kirsten might have stopped Carver just in time before it got that far." Carlos continues, looking over to me.

I hope there's no damage, I feel like I might've saved his life as he did mine if there wasn't any. God, I just hope he's okay.

"Fuck." Mike mutters, looking down to the ground in sadness.

Luke talks back into the conversation. "Okay, look... maybe I'm just playin' devil's advocate here, but if... damn it, if y'all are serious about goin' tonight, then we're gonna have to start talkin' about... leavin' some folks behind."

"No!" Sarita hisses, glaring up at Luke.

"There is no other way." He retorts.

"Are you fucking crazy, Luke? We're a group, we stick together-" I manage to spit in, before Rebecca cuts me off.

"This is bullshit." She hisses, looking at Luke with narrow eyebrows.

Luke shakes his head. "Well, I don't like it either, but guess what? It's where we're at."

"Kenny and I are only here because of you people... and now you intend on leaving us behind." Sarita scolds, looking down at the ground.

"Sarita, we're not leaving you OR Kenny here, we're not like that." I say, glaring over at Luke.

"So we should risk all of our lives?" Carlos asks, shrugging his shoulders.

Rebecca looks up at him with her biting glare. "What're you saying?" She asks.

"Nothing, I'm- I'm just thinking out loud here..." Carlos replies, rubbing his forehead.

"No! We're not leaving Kenny." Clementine demands, looking over at the ground. "That's not fair. We stay together."

"Life ain't fair, Clem. We're just tryin' to make the best of a bad situation, here. No one wants to leave Kenny." Luke says, looking at Clementine with his puppy dog eyes.

"Good, 'cause... you won't have to." A raspy voice barely says, trodding over towards us.

Everyone in the group spins their head towards the figure, to see Kenny. All cut up, with bruises and a bandage over his eye.

Sarita jumps to her feet and slowly walks over to Kenny, wrapping her arms around him as tight as she could.

"I'm alright, hon." He says, returning the hug with a brief smile. "We leave tonight... plan don't change." He says, releasing from the hug as the whole group stands up.

I can finally begin to walk again, my legs no longer feel like they're going to collapse under me.

"Not bad, old man." Nick says, tramping on all the harsh feelings they share between each other.

"Thanks, asshole." He retorts, giving a smirk.

"You are one tough bastard." Mike says in awe, pointing his finger towards Kenny.

Kenny chuckles a little. "Do tough bastards get their ass kicked in front of everybody?"

"Hey, Kenny... Thanks for saving my life back there. I owe you." I say, giving him a smile. I still feel guilty for him doing it, but at least I'm thankful.

"It's alright, darlin'. Who know what he would've done to ya. You don't owe me, you got that bastard off me. " Kenny replies, giving a smile back as he looks down at Clementine who slowly walks up to him. "You alright?" He asks her, as she looks up at him.

Clementine bolts into Kenny's arms, giving him a hug that looked really tight.

"It's alright." He mutters, returning the hug with a pat on her back. Clementine releases from the hug and gives him a soft smile

"Alright... well, what now?" Luke asks, looking over at Kenny.

"We get the hell outta here." Kenny demands.

"Like, now now?" Luke asks, looking over at Kenny with wide eyes.

Rebecca jumps in. "Yes!"

With a raspy voice, Kenny asks. "Where are we goin'? In case things get squirrely and we gotta make a break for it, we need a place to meet up."

"We could meet out at Parker's Run." Mike suggests, looking over at Kenny.

"The hell is that?" Kenny asks, shrugging his shoulders.

"It's a Civil War site a few miles north. Tourist trap. Got signs all over, just follow the road." Mike informs us.

"We stopped there after we escaped the first time. Luke and Carlos know where it is." Rebecca says, looking towards the two of them. "It's not that far."

"Well, at least if a few folks know where it's at, it'll be easier to find if we split up. Alright, that works." Kenny says, finalizing the plan.

I shrug my shoulders. "Let's hope it's not flooded with walkers still."

"Then we just need someone to go set off that PA, right? I mean, you never bothered to explain who's supposed to do that." Luke says, shrugging his shoulders.

Half of the group look towards Clementine, and the other half towards me.

"Wait, wait, hold on... they're the plan?" Luke asks.

"Uh..." I mumble, looking over at the half who look at me.

"Let's go."

* * *

"Be sure to remember to flip the switch for the outdoor speakers. Just the indoor speakers might not draw the herd. It's right on the microphone box."

"Right." Clementine nods, as I stand on the winch, waiting for Mike to pull me up. I look up to see Clementine sitting on the roof, waiting for me to be lifted.

"By default, it's set to play music, so you should just have to turn it on, right? Then climb back up, and drop into the stockroom. We'll meet you there." Rebecca says, looking up at Clementine and I.

"Got it. Mike, pull me up." I say, clutching on to the rope tighter just incase.

Luke looks up at me with a concerned face. "You be safe, alright? Try not to get caught."

To approve, I give him a smile before looking up at Clementine.

"Kirst, make sure you bring Alvin." Rebecca says, walking over to the winch.

I nod my head, and climb on to the roof. Clementine gives me her hand and pulls me up a little before finally reaching the top. "Thanks." I say, finally on my feet.

We begin to run forward and past the greenhouse. We make it to the skylight above Carver's office and lift it open. Clementine slides in first, and I follow close behind. Closing the skylight and landing on top of the filing cabinet.

Clementine jumps off of it, and I jump as well. "Alvin!" Clementine screeches, looking at the big, beat up figure in the chair.

"Holy shit, Alvin?" I yelp, looking at his pale, beaten body.

Clementine slowly walks up towards him, starting to shake him a little. "Alvin? Are- are you okay?" She asks.

"Clem, stay back..." A murmur, walking up to her and grabbing her shoulder. "Let's get this thing done, then we'll get Alvin, okay?"

Clementine nods, running over to the PA system.

"Alright. First, the outdoor speakers." I say, looking on the PA for the button. "Ah, there." I mutter, pressing the big green button. An eerie sound hollows through the building.

"Okay, now the mic..." Clementine mutters, before twisting the knob for the microphone volume. We wait for the music to start, but it doesn't. "Wh- what's wrong?"

My eyes follow the red and green wires at the back of the PA and lead towards the CD player next to it. "Clem, here." I say, pointing towards it. I open the disc compartment for the CD player, but the CD isn't in there. "It's not in here..." I mumble.

"Where are they?" Clementine asks, looking around the desk. "Here, found it." She whispers, grabbing the green and white CD and handing it over to me.

I put the disk in and close the compartment. Clementine presses the 'play' button, and goes back to the PA. Twisting the mic knob, the music plays louder and louder.

_"This 4th of July, make sure your backyard BBQ is complete with Howe's full line of products, to meet your grilling needs..."_

We look up and out the window to see Bonnie looking up at us, bolting over to the gate.

A rattling noise starts to alert us from behind, as we see a big figure looking through the desk.

"Alvin!" I cheer, stepping closer to him.

"Alvin? Wh- what's wrong?" Clementine asks, looking at his pale, bloody body.

He pulls out a very small pistol from the desk and looks at it with a smirk. "Carver talks all the tough guy shit... then keeps the tiniest gun in the universe... somethin' funny about that." He chuckles, out of breath as he coughs and heaves.

Clementine bolts over to the window and looks through it. She switches her gaze back at me with a face of fear.

"Come on, Alvin. We gotta go." I say, tugging on his arm.

Alvin pulls his arm away, and looks at the both of us. "I ain't fit to move, Kirst. I've... I've run out of road." He mumbles, looking towards us.

No, no, no! We can't leave him behind... "Alvin, that's crazy! Come on, we gotta go before-"

"Let's... No I'll- I'll just go up there and shut that thing off!" The voice cuts me off.

"Alvin..." Clementine mumbles, looking at him with her big amber eyes.

"You gotta get out of here, they'll be here any second." Alvin says, looking at the both of us.

As much as I don't want to leave Alvin behind, I knew he wouldn't be able to move or even step a foot out of the chair. God, I'm gonna miss him.

"Thank you..." Clementine mutters, before running towards the filing cabinet.

"Thank you, Alvin... thank you." I murmur, while running up towards Clementine.

Alvin, coughs and heaves as he tries to speak. "You take care of my girls..." He says, as Clementine and I spin our heads around to him. "I get the feelin' it's gonna be a girl..." I give him a nod as I smile, while climbing the filing cabinet. "Just a hunch... Go on."

As Clementine and I are just about to open the skylight, one of Carver's guards come rushing inside. They take a shot at Alvin, hitting him right in the chest.

"Alvin!" I screech, as tears start to well up in my eyes. Carver's guard looks up and Clementine and I and points his pistol at us. "Oh shit..." I mutter, as a gunshot goes flying into the guards chest by Alvin. The guard aimlessly takes a shot as he falls to the ground, a bullet zooms straight into my left thigh. "Aaarrghhh!" I scream in agony. "Shit!" I check the inside of my thigh for an exit wound, and luckily, there is one.

"Are you okay?!" Clementine asks, pushing open the skylight.

"I'm- I'm fine... There's an exit wound, so I'll be okay... Come on!" I yelp, lifting up Clementine with the strength I have left out of the skylight. Leaning on one leg, I jump out of the skylight and on to the roof. Clementine lends out her hand, and pulls me up. "Come on, let's go..." I mutter.

* * *

We both bolt towards the other skylight that's just past the greenhouse. I lift it open and Clementine jumps in, landing on boxes. I slowly slide my way in, and land behind her.

"You wanna disrespect me, fine. You wanna throw away the life, I'm trying to build for us all... then fuckin' fine!" Carver screeches, as he clutches on to an AK-47, and paces around the stockroom. The group put their weapons down, and hold their hands up in surrender.

Clementine and I jump from boxes, to shelves, to more boxes and finally to the edge of the shelf that Carver stands in front of.

"You wanna run off with this dog shit group of crippled fucks, then fine! Be my guest. But I will put a bullet in you and that baby before I-"

Before I even know it, Clementine jumps off of the railing and on to Carver's back.

"Oof!" Carver yelps, as Kenny punches his straight in the jaw.

Luke disarms the AK-47 from his arms and holds it towards him. "Get back!"

The group start to lower their hands as I jump down from the shelf, wincing and stumbling a little over the bullet wound.

"Come on, Luke. This ain't none of your business." Carver insists, holding up his hands in surrender.

"Oh my God, Kirsten, are you alright? And... and where's Alvin? Why isn't he with you?!" Rebecca asks, as she takes a glimpse at the blood that slowly seeps through my jeans.

I look up towards her, giving her the look of acceptance.

"Oh my god..." Rebecca shuts her eyes closed.

"Rebecca... I am so sorry-"

"Kill him." She demands, cutting Luke off.

"Rebecca, Rebecca sweetie, my god. How did we get here, you and me?" Carver says, trying to sweet talk his way out.

Limping, I walk over to Carver and fold my arms. "You got something of mine, asshole." I hiss, walking behind him.

"The fuck are you talking about?" Carver retorts, peering over his shoulder.

I look at his back pocket, to still see that my knife was in there from when he put it in their back at the lodge. I pull it out and walks to the left side of him. "This, is what I'm talking about, you delusional asswipe." I scowl, holding the knife towards his neck.

"Get that away from me." He demands, looking at the knife.

"Kirsten... don't!" Luke says, lowering the gun he has in his arms.

I slowly pull it away, bringing it down to my two hands. All the pent-up anger, and rage, and hurt all builds up inside of me. I feel like putting a bullet through this man's head... but no. He won't suffer if I do that.

With all the force I have, I let out a growl as I thrust the knife straight into his stomach, watching the blood slowly pour out of his body, as he stumbles around, but still on his feet. I take the knife, and ram it another four times into his stomach... Just over and over again.

"Kirsten..." Luke mutters, slowly looking up at me with his big, soft eyes.

I pull the knife out of his stomach one last time, Carver still surprisingly stands

I look down at my bloody hands. "Oh god..." I mutter under my breath, looking up at Luke.

What have I become...? I just stabbed a man over and over again, I'm turning into Carver myse-

_**BANG! **_

A gunshot rings out throughout the stockroom... Carver clutches on to his knee and I swing my head up towards Kenny. Holding a pistol, he takes a shot at Carver's other knee, causing him to fall to the ground.

Kenny lowers his gun as Sarita looks over at him, jaw dropped and eyes wide. He walks past Carver, over to one of the benches and lifts up a crowbar.

"Go on, and wait outside." Kenny demands, his voice still raspy as he refers to Clementine.

Jane, Mike and Bonnie turn around and walk over to the gate. Opening it, and exiting the stockroom.

"We have to go." Carlos mutters, not taking his eyes off the ground.

"Kenny, please..." Sarita tries to plead with him.

Not budging from his spot, Kenny continues to speak. "I only need a minute."

"That girl's already seen more than you could imagine..." Carver says, referring to Clementine.

"Shut your mouth, Bill!" Luke interrupts him. "You're all just gonna let him do this?" He asks, looking towards the group.

Keeping my eyes on the floor, I ever so slightly move my head towards Luke's direction. "You let me do it..." I say, sadden with my own actions.

"I didn't _want_ you to do that, Kirst! I couldn't have stopped you..." Luke hisses, throwing his hands in a fit.

"She's- she was the only one here that had the- the balls to do it..." Carver murmurs, clutching on to his stomach.

"There ain't one part of that son of a bitch I don't hate, but that does not make this right!" Luke insists, looking over to the group.

"Kenny, please... Don't do this! Kirsten's done enough." Clementine pleads, looking up at Kenny.

"It's gotta be done, Clem." Kenny says, still not budging.

I feel like a monster, that everything I stand for, I broke into tiny little pieces and stomped on it. I even let Luke down...

Carver looks up towards the group. "Look at you... you fuckin' ingrates. You don't even know how good you got it." He hisses, applying pressure to where I stabbed him to slow the blood loss.

Carlos, Sarah and Nick walk out of the stockroom.

Luke begins to walk, but looks back over to me. His face just says it all... 'You're a monster' It reads out to me. Luke motions his head towards to gate, signalling if I wanted to go with him.

I firmly shake my head, looking back down at Carver as I put my knife back into my thigh holster.

Luke leaves the stockroom, and I can't help but feel the anger inside of me still. Half of me regrets my actions and the other half _knows_ that he deserved it, and it was the right thing to do. To make him **suffer.**

"That's alright... you'll learn." Carver says, his eyes following Clementine as she walks past Sarita and Rebecca. "Lambs to the slaughter... No shepherd to guide you... Clementine knows exactly what I'm talking about."

"Come on." Sarita says, walking up to Clementine and grabbing her arm.

"Come on, Clem." Luke says, looking over at Clementine.

"No." Clementine says in a firm voice, looking down at the ground.

Sarita tugs on her arm a bit more. "I'm not letting you see this!"

"It's not your decision." She says, glaring up at Sarita as she gets out of her grasp.

...This isn't like Clementine, she would rather leave than watch this. "Clem, go wait outside." I say, looking up towards her.

"I'm not leaving, Kirsten." Clementine says, still in a firm voice.

"Atta girl... she ain't afraid to look it in the eye..." Carver spits out. "You go with that feelin' ya got right now, Clementine. It's what makes you stronger than the rest of 'em."

"Come on. Let's go." Carlos says, walking up towards Sarita and pulling her along.

"Yeah, go on. Lead the sheep out of the pen. We'll see how long that lasts." Carver spits out before looking down at his cut up stomach.

Carlos looks towards Rebecca as she shrugs. "I'll be right there." She says, looking down at Carver.

"You won't see anything." Kenny says, responding to Carver's dying words.

"That's funny, comin' from you. How's that eye? Just follow my voice, it'll get ya there. You got a thick fuckin' skull, Kenneth." Carver says, looking up at Kenny's figure. "Should've put you out of your misery right then... now look at ya. You're a mess."

Carver switches his gaze to me, I still stand in front of him. I slowly back away as Kenny walks forward. "And you... fucking bitch. Just watch, watch when ya don't give respect when it's demanded... someone's gonna hit ya worse than me..."

My eyebrows furrow as I look down at him and spit on him. "Fuck you." I hiss, glaring at him. "I hope you rot in hell."

Carver maniacally laughs, while looking up at me. He looks on to Rebecca as Kenny steps closer and closer. "The fuck are you lookin' at, bitch? Don't act like you didn't love every second of it-"

Carver's cut off by a whack to the face with the crowbar Kenny holds in his hand. As Kenny growls, he continuously bashes in Carver's face, as he did to him.

_**THWACK!**_

_**THWACK!**_

_**THWACK!**_

_**THWACK!**_

_**THWACK!**_

Hit after hit after hit, as Carver's face turns into a bloody mush of a mess, Kenny swings away, unleashing all the pent-up anger. From the corner of my eye, I can see Clementine wincing with every blow. She shuts her eyes closed, but then regains the poker face she's so well at using as stares on to the show Kenny's put on. I just keep staring, and staring as that monster's face is destroyed. His brain, the way he thinks of things, destroyed. All the anger I once had for him, destroyed. And it felt so good to watch him finally get what he deserves.

Kenny grips on to the crowbar with two hands, one last time, and forcefully whacks it into Carver's - what's left of a - face.

_**THWAACKK!**_

As Kenny stands over Carver's corpse while he pants, he looks up towards us. "Let's go..." He says, standing away from Carver's body.

Kenny, Clementine and I start to walk over to the gate. I peer over my shoulder to see Rebecca grab the gun from Carver's holster.

The only word I could think of to describe all of that, was justice.

* * *

Kenny jumps off the platform, landing on the ground with a slight stumble. Sarita walks over to him, to help him, but Kenny refuses. "No, no. I'm- I'm alright, hon." He says, regaining his balance. "Come on. We got enough to worry about." He says, walking forward.

As Clementine jumps off the platform, Rebecca stands beside me and Luke comes walking up.

"Here, lemme help you." I say, as I slowly ease her off the platform while Luke holds on to her, lifting her off.

He sets her down and looks up at me with the same face he gave me before he got out of there. "Y'need help?" He asks, holding out his hand.

"Honestly, I can't feel my left leg right now. So help would be much-needed." I say, lifting my leg out a little.

"The hell happened to your leg?" He asks, looking it over.

I rest my hand on Luke's shoulder and he helps me. "Well, PA system, one of Carver's guards, accidental gun shot, my leg. Don't worry, there's an exit wound and these jeans are tight enough to slow down the bleeding."

"Jesus, Kirst... I told you to be safe." Luke says, placing his hands on my shoulders.

"Well, you told me to not get my 'pretty face' hurt either. I still got hit. Twice." I retort, giving him a pained smile. He slowly returns the smile back, but that same look is eating me up inside.

"Man, we're never gonna make it through this." Nick doubts, looking towards the herd as Luke and I walk up.

"Are you kiddin' me? If Clem can handle it, you can." Luke retorts, looking towards Nick with a face that typically says 'Are you serious?'

"Shit... I thought they were comin' from the south." Kenny says, eying out the herd.

Rebecca nods. "They did... Looks like we're in the eye of it now." She says, looking back towards Kenny.

"Fuck... this is fucked." Mike hisses, looking back over to the group.

Luke pulls out a hatchet that he grabbed from the stockroom and gives to Clementine. "Here, you're gonna need somethin'."

"Thanks." Clementine says, looking straight at the herd.

As one of the walkers approach, Clementine drives the hatchet into it's skull. Pulling it out, it falls down to the concrete floor.

"Over here, Kirst." Luke says, grabbing my hand as he pulls me along to one of the walkers that Jane had decapitated.

Jane slices the open the stomach of the walker, and starts to smear it all over herself. To be honest, it wasn't a pretty sight. But hell, I just saw someone's head get bashed in with a crowbar. I think I'll survive.

Luke digs his hands into the walkers stomach and starts to smear it onto him. "This is fuckin' gross." He hisses, as he tries not to gag.

"I know, but we gotta do it." I say, sticking my hands into the walkers gut and rubbing it on my arms.

"Turn around, Kirst. I'll get your back." Luke says, pulling his hands out from the walker.

I spin myself around and cringe a little at the feel of it on my back. It feels warm, and slimy. Not to mention the smell... but hey, the good thing about this is Luke's hands on me. And I'm satisfied with that. I bend down a little and grab what's left of the insides, rubbing it on my chest and legs and making sure not to get any on my bullet wounds.

"This isn't going to work..." Rebecca softly says, looking down at her figure which is covered in all the blood, guts and muck from the walker.

"Smells gross!" Sarah pouts, as I look over to her to see Clementine rubbing it all over her.

"No shit..." Mike mumbles, looking over at Sarah.

"Everybody shut the fuck up and get covered." Jane hisses, making sure she didn't miss any spots on her.

I look over to Luke who looks worried as he eyes out the herd. "You know how to do this?" I ask him while I found my arms.

He looks over at me and raises his eyebrow. "Kirst, do I look like I'm dumb?" He says with a little laugh.

"Oh, right. According to Clem, you look like an idiot." I say with a smile, recalling the conversation at the lodge.

"Hurry the fuck up." Jane says, as she folds her arms and waits for Carlos.

"Turn around, I'll get your back." Carlos says, as he begins to smear Clementine's back with the muck.

Kenny stands up after Sarita has finished rubbing the guts all over her. "We ain't got all day here, everybody ready? They're almost on us."

"What in the actual fuck is goin' on here?!" Troy says, walking towards us with his AK-47 in hand. "What is this sick shit, somebody tell me before I start-" Luke attempts to grab the gun he disarmed from Carver with, in an attempt to get Troy to back off. "HEY, HEY, HEY, HEY! Don't you even fuckin' think about it, motherfucker. I will end you, you hear me?!" Troy says, aiming his gun at Luke as he stands up.

"For fuck sake, Troy. Put the gun down!" I hiss, standing in front of Luke. Troy lowers his gun and takes his aim at Jane.

"Troy." Jane sighs, standing up while holding a pistol behind her leg. "Troy, we talked about this." She says, slowly walking up to Troy as he backs away.

"What? The fuck you talkin' about?" Troy asks, looking at her confused and wide-eyed.

"I told you I wanted to get out. You said you'd help, then I'd help." Jane says, still walking towards him.

As the two keep talking, walkers start to come in our direction. Completely passing us, and going straight to Troy.

"I did, but now we can leave. Troy... you can come with us." Jane says, as Troy stops walking back. I hope she's not serious, Troy is a total goddamn creep. I'm not gonna have him around me.

"What?" Troy asks, dumbfounded as usual. "Well... where would we go?"

"Away from here... together..." Jane mumbles as she starts to get really close to Troy.

Troy's annoying smirk strikes his face again. "Man, you smell really bad. You gotta get a bath before we-

**BANG!**

"NEEEAAARRGHHH!" Troy screeches in agony, holding his crotch just after Jane grabs the AK-47 out of his hands and shoots his... yeah. "Y- Y- YOU SHOT MY DICK OFF! YOU BITCH!"

Jane spins around on her heels and walks back up to the group. "Come on." She says, as she hands the AK-47 over to Bonnie. "Don't make any noise, got it? They might hear something they don't like. And for fuck sake, WALK. Act like you belong, and you will belong."

The whole group begins to walk from the incoming herd that pass us, going straight for Troy as they devour him. To be honest, his screams and cries are satisfying.

I stay very close to Luke and keep my mouth shut, walking as slow and dead as I can. I look over to my left to see Sarah standing completely still with her eyes forward as a walker brushes past her.

"Eyes forward, Kirst." Luke whispers, tapping my hip with his finger. I switch my gaze back forward and my eyes don't leave.

"I need more ammo!" A guard yells from on top of the roof of the hardware store.

"Is that Tavia?" Luke asks, looking back up to the roof.

I lift my head up towards the roof to see that Tavia and the rest of the guards had started to shoot our way. "Shit..." I mumble as I swing my head back down.

"Stay calm." Jane whispers.

"Luke..." I hiss. I can feel the pressure of trying to be quiet, and not to getting yourself on the walkers dinner plates.

"Shh... we're gonna be okay." Luke says, clutching on to my hand closest to him.

"Don't run." Jane says to Mike, as he starts to quicken his pace.

"Shhh. Quiet, honey. Clementine, come help me." Carlos says, trying to calm Sarah down. "Calm her down, please. Just say something. You're her friend."

"Shh..." Clementine says, at an attempt to keep her quiet.

"Clementine, you- Arrrggghgh!" Suddenly, a bullet drives straight into Carlos' neck. He drifts off to the side, gurgling on his own blood.

"DAD!" Sarah yells.

A walker soon grabs onto Carlos and sinks their teeth into his shoulder. "Arrrgghgh! AAAARRGGGH!" Carlos screams, as another takes a bite into his arm.

"DAD! DAAAD! NOO, DAAAD!" Sarah screams at the top of her lungs, clutching onto her head and shaking it. "GET UP, DAD! GET UP!"

"Sarah!" I shout out, letting go of Luke's hand and rushing towards her and Clementine.

"Kirsten, come 'ere!" Luke shouts.

A walker starts to lunge at Sarah before Sarita decapitates it as it falls to the ground.

Bonnie starts to shoot the remaining walkers around Sarah. "Sarah!"

"Please... daddy, nooo!" She says, clutching on to her head again.

"Sarah, get ahold of yourself!" Clementine says, just before I run up to Sarah.

I clutch on to Sarah, giving her a brief hug before speaking. "Sarah, it's gonna be okay, just be quiet-" Sarah breaks out of my grasp and begins to run.

"Sarah, did you-" Clementine says, before cutting herself off as she sees Sarah running off into the herd.

"Shit." I mumble, looking over at Clementine as she looks at me.

I pull out my knife from my holster, and get ready to kill anything that bites. A walker starts to sweep towards Clementine. She swings the hatchet into the side of the walkers head, and it falls to the floor.

One of the walkers clutch it's hand on to my shoulder and open it's mouth, just about to take a bite until I tug my shoulder away, and drive the knife into it's head. Pulling it out, it falls to the floor just near my feet.

A walker comes lunging towards Clementine and she moves out of the way, tripping over another walker and falling onto the ground. I bolt over to her and pull her up with all my strength, as she gets back onto her feet.

Suddenly, we hear a screeching scream from behind us. We both run through the herd for a brief moment to find Sarita's hand being chomped on by a walker, Clementine looks at me, giving me this ill expression. We both look back to Sarita, and Clementine hacks her hatchet through Sarita's arm as I kill the walker with my knife.

_**THWACK!**_

"Oh god!" Sarita cries out, looking at Clementine in fear.

_**THWACK!** _

Sarita looks down at the blood spurting nub she has, and back over at Clementine.

"AAAARRRRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHH!"

* * *

**_A/N: This took me over 6 hours to write, and it contains 6,770 words. My usual stories are 2,500-3,000 words! I really hope you enjoyed this chapter! I worked really hard on it, and I'm so thankful for you guys giving this fan fiction a chance. I won't be reading out reviews, but I will as soon as we get back into updating. _**

**_Hope you enjoyed._**

**_-Inf._**


	26. Alive Inside

_**A/N: Episode 4 is finally out! Which means, updates! Hope you enjoy! P.S, I decided to keep Nick alive because FUCK TELLTALE. *cough* I mean, because I love him. c:**_

* * *

"C-Clem... Kir..."

_**THWACK!**_

"ARRRGHHHH!" Sarita screeches, as she watches the bitten proportion of her hand drop down to the ground. "You... you..." She can barely talk, let alone look at the both us. Her screams and screeches attract the nearby walkers as two of them clutch onto her body and start chewing away on her arm. Her moans and gags rushing through my mind, circling around my head.

"Sarita?" Kenny asks, taking down one of the walkers and looking at her in fear. "No!"

"Where are you going? Kenny!" Mike calls after him as he takes off and bolts towards us.

My face is in utter fear as I look down at Clementine. "I'm so sorry, Kenny. We're sorry, we tried!" I exclaim, watching him take out the walkers that were once biting onto Sarita.

Sarita's motionless body dangles onto the ground, facing upwards towards Clementine and I. Kenny drops to his knees as he grasps onto her.

"No! You can't die. I won't LET you die." Kenny says, looking down at her as she coughs up. Mike makes his way over towards us and looks down at the mess before looking up at us with wide eyes.

"We have to move, there's too many!" Mike insists, taking out one of the walkers with a mallet.

"Ugh.. urrrghh.. uh...urrhhh." Sarita's pained yelps cut off by the next.

"Come on, babe!" Kenny says, looking down as tears well up in his eyes.

"Kenny! She's dead, man. She's gone." Mike yelps before smashing his mallet into the head of a walker.

I shake my head as tears start to slowly and softly fill my eyes. "Kenny, I'm so sorry... We tried, she just..."

He looks up towards me, steamingly glaring. "Leave us alone!" He demands, clenching his teeth.

"Kenny, we have to go. Come on!" Clementine says, looking around at the dangerous threats.

Kenny swaps his glare from me to Clementine. "Get the FUCK away from us." He screeches. "This is your goddamn fault, both of you!"

"Hey! We tried to save her, Kenny!" I retort, my eyebrows creasing together.

"It isn't gonna go like this." He backtalks, looking back down at Sarita. "I won't be left alone again!"

"Kenny!" Mike yelps.

"We're gonna leave, we're gonna get out of this." Kenny whispers to her, trying to convince Sarita and himself with sweet nothings. "I don't care what these fuckers are saying, you're gonna be FINE."

"KENNY!" Mike shouts, looking down at him.

Clementine hardens her tone. "She's already dead, you have to leave her!"

Kenny doesn't respond to her, staying silent as he brushes his thumb against Sarita's cheek. "I'm sorry. I love you." He whispers before standing up and looking toward the left of him. Taking out one of the approaching walkers. "You had no right, Clementine! No fucking right!"

"She tried to save her-"

"No! Shut the fuck up, you both didn't save her! You killed her!" Kenny says, running off towards Mike as the break through the herd.

I look down at Sarita. "Clementine, go follow them. I'll be fine." I say, looking back up at her. She gives me a brief nod and runs off into the direct Kenny and Mike had gone. I bend down, looking at Sarita's corpse as her eyes start to slowly change into a creamy white colour. It confused me on how quick she could turn, how quick she can be a human being to a reanimated corpse, walking around and eating anything in sight.

All of a sudden, the one handed corpse lunged towards me, grabbing onto my arm and bringing it closer towards her mouth. "Sarita, no..." I quietly yelp with a struggle before standing up and out of her grasp, placing my foot on her chest so she couldn't get up. "Ohh..." I cup my mouth as tears start to well up again. "I'm so sorry, Sarita. You deserved better than this..." I whisper, brushing my fringe out of my eyes and placing my knife onto her forehead. I take deep breaths and lunge the knife straight through her forehead, watching her wailing arms flop back down onto the ground.

A pair of arms suddenly swoosh me up and turn me around. "You okay? You're not bit are... you...-" it was Luke with a slouching Nick behind him, looking around in fear. As he spoke, he switched his eyes from my trembling lips to Sarita's lifeless body. "Oh god..." He murmurs, shaking his head and looking back up at me. "Come on, we gotta get Sarah. Nick, follow me." He says, grabbing my arm and pulling me along. "I'm goin' after Sarah!" He shouts, alerting any of the group members that were still in the herd.

"Luke..." A faint little voice whispered, but I shook it off. Just incase I was hallucinating and didn't turn around to get myself killed.

Suddenly, I hear a grunt come from behind me as Nick clutches onto his shoulder as blood starts to seep through.

"Nick, holy shit... Are you okay?" I ask, looking back behind me while still holding onto Luke's hand.

"I'm- gahh- I'm fine... I'm fine..." He yelps, looking back at me with pain in his icy blue eyes.

Luke looks behind himself and glances over at Nick. "What do you mean? What happened?" He asks, looking straight forward incase he ran into something.

"I got shot... But I'm fine, I swear..." He mumbles, as he picks up his pace.

That reminded me of my leg, once I looked down, I could see even more blood from before. That's probably why Sarita attacked me... I ignored the pain for the last ten minutes, but now it was really starting to get to me. I could feel it throbbing and aching, like there was a steel pole in it. It felt very hot, and tempered... But now with Carlos gone, I don't think it's gonna be good. For Nick, for me, for Luke, for Kenny... For Rebecca...

Before Luke could reply, he was cut off my Nick. "Look, there she is!" He points as I see a small, but clear figure walking slowly through the forest.

I let go of Luke's hand and run as fast as I could up towards her. "Sarah!" I shout out, finally coming to a stop and placing my hand on her shoulder. "Sarah it's me-"

"Aaaaghhhh!" She screeches, pulling away from my hand and bolting into the forest a bit more.

"Sarah!" Luke shouts, not even budging to stop his pace as he runs after her. "Come on!" He says, grabbing onto my hand and pulling me along.

Sarah kept shouting and crying all throughout the forest, slightly wailing her arms as she runs.

"Sarah, stop!" Nick shouts, still holding onto his shoulder.

It had been ten minutes since we started chasing Sarah, her pace and our pace decreased a bit as we started to get a little fatigued. Sarah had wandered her path into an abandoned Trailer Park after she accidentally wailed her glasses off her face, still shouting and crying.

Walkers started coming out from all sorts of places, and Sarah almost froze up before making a beeline into a trailer that had it's door swung open. She didn't close the door behind her and all three of us jumped inside. Shutting the door and locking it before following Sarah into one of the bedrooms where she slumped down against the wall and abruptedly cut herself off with silence.

"Shut the door, Nick." Luke says, crouching down to Sarah.

I slumped down onto my knees and watched as Sarah trembled, her glasses we no longer on her face.

"Sarah...?" I mumble, slowly attempted to place my hand on her shoulder.

"No!" She weeped, flinching away from my hand.

I swept my hand back and looked up at Luke. "Has she done this before?" I ask. Luke would've been with her for a while, and I guess he might've gone through this before.

Luke shakes his head with those puppy dog eyes, shooting at me like darts. The same look that he gave me all throughout us trying to escape paralyzed me. "No... but, Carlos talked about her having anxiety... I just didn't think it was this bad..."

"Where's my dad?" Sarah softly asks, looking up at Luke as he mentioned Carlos' name. "I just want my dad to come back so we can leave." She mumbles.

Oh no... Sarah doesn't understand. If I told her, she'd break into a million pieces... but I knew I had to...

"Sarah... Your dad isn't coming back, he's... somewhere else. Some place better. He just wanted you to be safe, and you will be safe if you come with us..." I softly ease into the statement, watching her eyes beam up at me as I tell her.

"Why didn't he take me with him?" She shakily asks.

I shake my head as I look down... I couldn't win this. But I need to try... "Because he wanted us to take care of you. We'll keep you safe from those things, just like your dad did."

Sarah buries her head into knees as her soft weeps start to flood the room.

"Well, what're we gonna do?" Nick asks.

"We need'a get help. Walker's ain't tearing down the door, so you could go out and try to find the others." Luke suggests to Nick as he stands up from his knees.

Nick nods his head. "I'm gonna need somethin'." He says, looking at the both of us.

I guess having him protect himself won't hurt. "Here, take my knife." I say, pulling it out of my knife holster and handing it to him.

"Alright." He nods, grabbing the knife and putting his hand on the doorknob. As he goes to open the door, his hand slips away from the door knob and he lunges forward to exit the room, but is stop by the cold hardwood door. "Ah, shit!" He yelps, banging his head on the door as he falls to the ground, his hat falling off.

Sarah jumps a little at the noise and looks up at me in fear.

"Goddamnit, Nick." Luke says, trying to contain his laughter while I'm over in the corner silently dying of laughter.

"Hey, shut up. My hand slipped..." He says in a croaky voice as he stands up.

I turn around and look back at Nick to realize that his hat had come off. "Oh my god..." I mumble, cupping my hand over my smiling lips.

"What?" He asks, as he glances over to Luke who picks his hat up.

"I have never seen you with your hat off." I mumble, walking up to him and ruffling his black hair. A smile spreads across my face while I let out a little laugh, acting really childish.

Nick flicks my hands away and puts his hat back on. "Stop that." He says, bending over and picking up my knife. "You guys gonna be alright?" He asks, placing his hand on the door knob.

"Yeah, we'll be fine. You be safe out there, okay?" Luke insists before placing his hand on Nick's shoulder.

Nick gives a brief nod and exits the room, shutting the door behind him.

I let out a big sigh and wipe my forehead, looking down at the wreck of a girl Sarah is. "What are we gonna do about her?" I ask, bending back down to her level. "Sarah... We can't stay here. We need to go find the others." I tell her, trying again to place my hand on her shoulder but she flinches away. I look down to the ground before standing up to meet my gaze with Luke's. "Try lifting her."

"We can't even lay a finger on her, what makes you think she'll let us lift her?" He asks, placing his hand on his hip.

"She'll feel comfortable in your arms, she won't get as scared as much." I say, looking down at Sarah as I refer to her. "And besides, if I'm comfortable in your arms, then _anyone_ is." I reassure with a smirk spread across my face. I say that mostly because I hate the feeling of people holding onto me or touching me, but with Luke, it's a whole different story.

"Alright, fine." Luke gives in, bending down a little and trying to clutch onto Sarah. "It's alright, Sarah. I'm not gonna hurt you..-"

"No! Ahh!" She screams, trying to push Luke away but failing. He grabs onto her and starts to life her up, but he can't get her up one centimeter as he lets go of her.

"Ahh, shit..." He yelps, clutching onto his lower torso.

"What's wrong?" I ask putting my hand on his shoulder and tilting him upwards.

Luke shakes his head and regains himself, looking back at Kirsten. "It's my ribs. I'm.. I'm fine. It's just, you know, Carver beat me up pretty good..." He says, letting a little laugh out.

"Alright, let me try." I say, stepping towards Sarah.

"Kirsten, ya can't. Your leg's lookin' worse, you might do somethin' to it." Luke stops me, still clutching onto his ribs. He had a point, but if it comes to worse, and I need to get her out of here, then I'm gonna have to put that pain aside.

"It's fine, Luke. I can do it." I assure before turning around to Sarah and getting my arms ready. I slowly lean my arms in and with a fast pace, I quickly wrap my arms around her. She starts to squeal and tries to fiddle out of my arms, but I still hold onto her tight. I move one of my arms under her legs and swoop her up in the bridal position. The pain in my leg starts to get worse as I lift her up, I can feel more blood rushing down my leg but I ignore it.

"Alright, let's go." Luke says, opening the bedroom door as he lets me out first. I start to feel a little woozy as I look down at my leg... I don't know how much blood I've lost or even if it's a threat. I can see the black clouding my eyes and I suddenly grow a little weaker, Sarah starting to win the little fight she's putting up.

Suddenly, Nick comes bursting through the door and he slams it closed, locking it and propping his back up against it. "Lurkers!" He yelps, looking over at us.

"Aw, shit!" I hear a muffled voice say as my legs start to collapse from under me, falling to the ground. I can faintly see Sarah place her feet on the ground before I fall, making sure she didn't fall with me. I see her run around me and back into the bedroom. "Kirst, you okay?" The muffled voice asks, I assume it's Luke as he rushes up to me and starts to shake me.

I hear another muffled voice, but It's too hard to make out. A shadowy figure slumps down to the ground on the other side of me, facing opposite of who I assume it Luke.

Black starts to fill my eyesight fully before I doze off.

* * *

"Luke, I found some." I faintly hear a muffled voice say.

"Okay, okay, good. Come in 'ere." A voice a little bit more closer says.

The muffled voice becomes closer as they speak. "I ain't putting these on her, she's your girlfriend." The muffled voice becomes closer as they speak.

"I know that, Nick. But... how do we?" One of the voices ask.

There was a silence before the talking started again. "You're gonna have to take her jeans off, Luke..."

"Yeah, and what if she wakes up to her jeans-" For a second time, I black out.

"Sarah, come on!"

Slowly, I start to wake up to banging, thumps, snarls and gurgles. Light was coming through the windows and it was refreshing to see. I was laying down on the carpet of the trailer I remember that we entered. I slowly sit up, holding onto my head. Looking down, I see that my jeans were brought down to my ankles and I started to freak the hell out.

"Woah, woah! What the fuck?!" I hiss, backing away from Luke who sat right beside me. I'm stopped by propping my back up against the wall. I can still feel the pain in my left leg, but I ignore it as I look back down to myself. My underwear was intact but..."Did we just have sex...?"

"No, no, no! You need to calm down, okay? I wasn't doing that." He whispers, holding his hands up in surrender.

"Why the hell are my pants down?!" I softly hiss, trying to keep quiet. He looks down to the floor beside him and picks up the bandages, pointing to my leg. I see the entering bullet wound on the outer side of my left leg and the exit wound on the inner side. "Oh... right."

"You want me to do it, or do you?" Luke asks, holding his hand out with the bandages in it. I point and scoot back over to him. "Alright, then. I'll do it."

"What's going on in there?" I hear Nick's muffled voice ask as I hear Sarah squealing.

"It's alright, Nick. Just... try to pick her up, again." Luke says before looking back down at my leg. "Alright, we need to put this on tight enough to stop the bleedin', but not that tight where there won't be any circulation." Luke informs me as I rest my elbows onto the floor. "This might hurt a little, you gonna be okay?"

"I'll be fine, it's just a bandage." I say, ignoring Nick's pleas and attempts to get Sarah out. Luke starts to slowly put the bandages around my leg. I honestly thought it wouldn't hurt as much, but I was wrong. It was excruciating pain since it had to be tight, meaning she had to put pressure on the wound which killed. "Arrrgh-" I cup my hand over my mouth, trying to stop myself from being extremely loud.

"I'm so sorry, Kirst. You'll get used to the pain, you just gotta keep quiet, okay?" Luke assures, but he was right. I was starting to get used to the pain, and by the time he was done, it only stung a little.

Luke lent his hand out as he stood up, pulling me up with him. I slowly bent down and gripped onto my jeans, pulling and buttoning them up.

"Was pulling my jeans down really necessary?" I ask, folding my arms as I looking back to Luke.

"What, was I supposed to put it over your jeans?" He retorts, walking over to the bedroom door.

I follow after him and he opens the door, Sarah's yelps and squeals get louder. "You could have done that instead. Now I feel violated." I say in a joking manner as I smirk at Luke.

"I tried everything, she won't budge." Nick says, as he looks up towards us.

"Let me carry her again." I say, bending down to her level.

Luke gives me a look of concern, confusion and- "Are you crazy? You know what happened when you tried that last time, Kirst."

"Yeah, but I can-"

**_BEEEEEEEEEEEEP!_**

What sounded like a car horn started to go off continuously without stopping.

"The hell's that?" Nick asks as he looks around frantically.

I look over to him in confusion. "Sounds like a car horn?"

Suddenly, the banging and lumps stop. The walkers weren't attracted to us anymore, they had moved away from the trailer and went towards whatever was attracting them.

"The walkers stopped..." Luke says, just before the car horn had stopped too.

"So did the car horn."

_**THUMP!**_

"I think they're back." Nick says in fear.

**_THUMP!_**

"Lean against the door!" I shout, pushing Luke and Nick towards the bedroom door.

**_THUUMMPP!_**

"Sarah, come on. We gotta go!" I shout, trying to pull her up but she keeps resisting.

The sounds of muffled talking starts to fill our ears, making it even _more_ worse. "I think they're people..." I say, pulling Luke away from the door to lean my ear up against it.

**_THUMP!_**

* * *

_**A/N: Hell yeah for updates! I'm so excited to be writing again. I know I said that I was going to update my other fanfiction more, but I had writers block for ages and I couldn't stop thinking of things for this chapter. **_

_**On a higher note, at the San Diego Comic-con Telltale games' co-founder confirmed that they are doing a season 3 for the game! Yes!**_

_**Since that will be such a long wait after Episode 5 is released, I will not be following season 3's plot. I'll either make it up as I go along (most likely), or I'll just end this fanfiction and start a new one WITH Kirsten in it for season 3.**_

_**Anyway, if you'd like to contact me where I'm most active, that would be my Twitter TelltaleLuke.**_

_**Hope you enjoyed!**_

**_-Inf._**


	27. Sarah

_**A/N: Hope you enjoy this chapter! Sorry, but I might not be uploading much this week since some family related stuff, but once I do upload, oh man. You're gonna love it.**_

* * *

"Sarah, please... Who's out there?" Luke shouts, pulling out his machete in pain as he stands guard at the door.

A familiar, child-like voice shouted his name. "Luke!"

Luke slowly opens the door and peeks his head through. "Clem?" He shouts out as a smile spreads across his face. "Oh, thank god." He says in relief, as he walks out the door. Nick and I follow close behind him, and at the sight of Clementine's face I smiled. Giving her a tight hug. I'm glad she made it out okay.

"When we heard y'all banging through the door... thought the lurkers'd came to take what's left of us." Luke says as he still clutches onto his ribs in pain.

"Thank god you're here, we've been here for hours..." I exclaim, wiping my forehead as I look at the two.

Clementine looked around the trailer and came to realization. "Luke, where's Sarah?" She asks, looking up at him with her big amber eyes.

I fold my arms and let out a big exhale, looking at Luke as he looks back to the bedroom. Nick kept constantly checking the window to see if the walkers had made their way around the whole trailer.

"I... I don't know what to do about her." Luke says, looking back over at Clementine and Jane.

Jane looks over Luke's shoulder and to the bedroom door. "What's the matter?" She asks, finally speaking up.

Luke shakes his head and motions the two to follow along. "You gotta help." He softly demands.

The five of us make our way back into the bedroom, keeping my eyes on Sarah in case she started to freak out.

"Sarah, look. Look, it's Clem. See? It's just like I told you, they're okay." Luke says, speaking to her in a soft voice, calm voice.

"Come on, Sarah. You gotta get up." Nick says, bending down to her level. Sarah tucks her feet in a little more and keeps her focus on her knees.

Clementine looks at the girl in concern. "Was she bitten? Did they get her?" She asks, looking up at Luke and I.

"No, they didn't. She's just... not cooperating." I say, looking down at Sarah's innocent face.

How are we gonna get Sarah out of here? We've tried so hard for so long, and she just isn't budging. I hope Clementine can help her.

"We don't know what to do, I can't snap her out of it, okay?" Luke exclaims, looking at the two in worry. "We tried to carry her, but then Kirsten passed out from her injury, I can't lift her because of my ribs, and she won't let Nick touch her. She won't let _anyone_ touch her."

I shake my head and look up at the two. "It's just that... After Carlos, she flipped. She switched into a whole different person. We found her in the woods and she started bolting like a psycho. She saw this place when walkers surrounded us and went straight in." I explain. I hope Carlos told Clementine _something_ about Sarah, anything.

The banging and snarls started to intense, which is going to make the door unsteady.

"We're not out of the woods yet..." Jane says, looking back at the door.

"Well what are we gonna do?!" Nick asks in panic, looking at Jane with a shaky voice.

Silence drew throughout the room, which was irritating. Silence was a hard thing to hear, except for the walkers outside.

"Maybe she'll listen to me?" Clementine suggested, looking up at Luke.

He nodded his head. "Maybe..."

"Definitely." I exclaim, folding my arms. "Well, I can't be sure... But I have a feeling she will." I continued.

"Listen, I.. uh..." Jane started with a face of fear. This girl was tough, and I'm not just saying that for the hell of it, I _knew_ she was tough. What would make her so scared? "They're gonna tear this place open pretty soon. We can't stay. So, we gotta get her up or we gotta..."

"Hold on- We can't leave Sarah here?" I retort, looking at Jane like she was crazy. There's no chance I'm going to leave her behind. Not after what happened with Claire...

"No! That's not what- We- we just need to get her up and out of here, okay?" Jane explains with a stutter.

Luke joins in on the conversation, probably trying to stop anything from starting. "Well, we've been trying for hours... she'll barely look at us." Luke looks over at Clementine. "Clem?"

Clementine bends down to Sarah's level and looks at her with a painful expression. "Sarah. It's me?" She softly says, trying not to alarm the girl.

Sarah slowly looks up at her, focusing her beady eyes on her features. "Hi." She lets out before putting her gaze back to her knees.

Clementine reaches her hands out to hug Sarah, but Sarah flinches and looks away. "Noo!" She yelps, holding her hands out to move Clementine away from her.

"Shit..." Jane mumbles as she looks at Sarah.

"Maybe it seems like you're all alone right now, but you're not." Clementine softly says, gazing at Sarah's features.

Sarah places her head back down from looking at the girl. "Yes, I am." She mumbles.

"What about Luke? And Kirsten? And Nick? And Jane? And me? We came here because of you. All of us in the group, we're your family now." Clementine says with a smile as she looks at Sarah.

Sarah's stutters start to turn into sobs as she buries her head in her legs.

"Sarah..." I mutter, looking down at her with furrowed eyebrows.

Suddenly, a thump had lingered throughout the room behind us. We all turned around to see a handful of walkers starting to bang onto the window, clenching and biting their teeth on the glass.

Jane quickly runs over to the window and looks out. "Crap, we're surrounded..." She turns around and looks about the room. "What- what about the skylight?" She asks, pointing to the square glass window up the top of the roof.

"All we got." Luke says looking up at the light beamed on his face.

"Clem. There's no time!" Jane exclaims, angering her tone.

That annoyed me, she was so eager to give up on Sarah like that. But like Clementine said, she's family. "Yeah, well we're _making_ time, got it?" I retorted back to her. It wasn't a smart thing to say, she was right. We didn't have time, but we aren't going to let a little girl die.

Clementine shook off Jane's comment and looked back at Sarah. "When everything started, I met my friend Lee. He's Kirsten's uncle. He tried to help me find my parents. He protected me more than anyone else in my _whole_ life." Clementine started. I knew this was going to get Sarah up and out of here. "He died to keep me safe. I was so scared."

"But you're still here..." Sarah says, looking up at Clementine with realization.

"Because he taught me to be strong. Even when I'm scared. Because he wanted me to live... And your dad protected you because he wanted _you_ to live. He would still want that..." She continued, a smile gaining on her face. I couldn't help but feel so happy, but I needed to say something.

I bent down to Sarah's level and placed my hand on her knee, she didn't flinch or move. "Sarah, I had a little sister that was nearly your age. It was only me and her when this started. We couldn't find my dad, so we took off on our own. I tried so _hard_, for so _long_, just to keep her _safe_. It was a long two years to deal with, but in the end, I couldn't protect her anymore. I tried to help her, but I just couldn't... I'm not going to let that happen to you because _you're_ my family, now. We're _all_ family." I felt a warm hand on my shoulder, but I didn't turn around. I knew it was Luke's, but we were running out of time. "We're going to get you out of here. I'm not doing that for the sake of it, I'm doing it for your dad."

Clementine reached into her jacket pocket and grabbed a red pair of glasses. Handing it to Sarah, she put it on her face and gave a small smile.

What sounded like a lock busting rung throughout the trailer. Jane went bolting into the main area and tried to shut it closed. "Get to the skylight, now!"

Luke holds out his hands for Clementine, her being the lightest. "C'mon, I'll boost you!" Clementine runs over to him, placing her hands on his shoulders and her foot on his hands. As soon as he tries to push her up, he immediately drops her and clutches onto her ribs. "Agh! Ugh, damn it!"

"Luke, take it easy!" I inform him while running over to Clementine to pull her up.

From the other room, Jane shouts while she tries to keep the door shut. "What's going on back there?" She asks.

Luke leans against the wall, still clutching onto his ribs as I pull Clementine up from the ground. "My ribs... We're gonna need somethin' to stand on!" He informs, leaning off the wall.

"Someone, get over here and help me hold this!" Jane yells out from the main area.

I bolt over to her and lean my back against the wooden desk while Luke, Nick and Clementine come rushing over. Nick places his tall figure against the desk and starts to push it into the wall with Jane and I.

"Clem, go find something to stand on!" I shout with a struggle while trying to keep the walkers from intruding.

Clementine looks around the room and points towards a Milk Crate. "Can we use this?" She asks, looking over at us.

Luke looks over at her while he joins in on keeping the walkers out. "It's not big enough!" He says, jerking his head towards Clementine.

She looks around a little bit more before looking over at the refrigerator. "The fridge?" She asks.

Jane shakes her head and looks back at the fridge. "Forget it. That thing ain't budging! Find something else!"

Clementine runs over to the group of us and points at the desk. "Can we use that?"

Is she crazy? "Are you crazy?" I ask her as my eyes widen at the girl.

"Yeah, that would work..." Jane agrees, looking back to Clementine.

My eyes widen even more as I look at her. "Jane, they're gonna start pouring in if we don't keep this here!"

"Aw shit..." Luke mumbles, looking down at the wooden desk. He moves towards the else of the desk, getting ready to pull it out.

I shake my head and look over at the taller figure who stands next to me. "Nick, help Jane once we move this. Clem, give Luke and I a hand."

Clementine nods her head as she moves to the middle of the desk. I walk around Jane towards the opposite end of the desk and get ready to push.

"On three." Jane starts, readying herself to push the door shut. "One... Two... Three!"

Luke heaves the desk towards him and I start to push, the walkers arms and heads getting push up against the door frame as Nick and Jane try to close it.

As I keep pushing the desk, I feel a pair of arms grab onto one of my ankles and pull me down. "Ah, shit!" I yelp, trying to pull my ankle away from walker who clamps their teeth together.

"Kirsten!" Luke yells out as he stops pulling the desk. "Clem, go help her!" He demands as he facial expressions turns to utter terror.

Clementine rushes over towards me and stabs the walker that's inches away from my foot.

"Okay, go, go!" Jane yells out as she forces the door closed with Nick. "Keep pushing. Go!"

Clementine and I run back over to the desk and start to push again, using all the strength I have left in me. Suddenly, a burst of snarls and moans grow louder and louder as Nick and Jane fight off the walkers that pushed the door open.

We finally get the desk into the room and I hold onto my leg in pain, I can feel the burning and throbbing it keeps letting on.

"It's through!" Clementine alerts Nick and Jane. The two of them sprint into the bedroom and Jane shuts the door, the thumps and bangs grow louder as more walkers start to pour into the main area.

By the time I turned around, Luke was already on the desk. I look down at Sarah who's beedy eyes look up at me. "Sarah, come on, we gotta go." I say, holding onto my leg.

"Luke, you first. We need you up top." Jane says as she climbs onto the desk beside him. She's starting to give me this weird, unfaithful vibe. But just so there isn't any arguments, it's best to avoid it.

As I watch Jane lift Luke onto the roof, Nick joins in and climbs up there.

"You alright, man?" Luke asks him in concern. Nick gives a brief nod and looks down to the skylight. "Okay, come on!" Luke shouts, bending down and putting his hand through the skylight to lift us up.

"Clem!" Jane yelps, egging her to leave.

Clementine looks forward at Sarah who sits quietly against the wall. "Sarah, we have to go. Are you listening?" She asks the girl.

Sarah looks up at Clementine and I. "I can't do it..." She whispers, looking down at her knees.

"NOW, Clementine!" Jane yells at her, almost scolding.

I glare over at Jane who doesn't take her eyes off Clementine. "Jane, shut the fuck up! We're getting her out of here whether you like it or not!" How dare she try and pull Clementine along with her. Sarah and Clementine are friends, they're going to stick by each other.

"If she doesn't want to go you can't make her, Kirsten! Don't let her bring you both down..." Jane exclaims. She was making sense, but Sarah isn't a liability... she's family.

Clementine and I bend down to Sarah's level and she starts to freak out. "I can't, I can't, I can't! Daddy..."

"Snap out of it, Sarah!" Clementine pleads to her, "Please..."

"Sarah, come on! You can do this!" I shout to her, trying to grab her arms.

The bedroom door starts to crack and creek, they were forcing the door too much...

"SARAH!" I shout at her, trying to finally pull her up.

Just before the walkers bursted through the door, Clementine did something I never thought she would... She thrusted her tiny hand straight onto the side Sarah's face, giving her a hard slap.

"Move!" Clementine shouts, pulling Sarah's arms and she finally stands up.

We rush over to the desk and lift Sarah on it. Nick pulls Sarah up, and Luke pulls Clementine. As soon as they were done lifting the children up, Jane and I both held our hands up to Luke to grab one of us. Instead of clutching onto my hand, he grabbed onto Jane's. Before I could say anything, Nick grabbed onto my hand and heaved me up with Clementine's help. Once we were on the roof, Nick gave a disgusted look to Luke as I did the same.

Clementine looks up at me and taps me on my arm. "Is your leg okay?" She asks, gazing down at the hole in my pants from where the bullet was, it showed the bandage from underneath.

I give her a nod. "Yeah, It's fine. I just don't know how I'm gonna get down though..." I say, looking over the edge of the roof.

"We gotta go." Jane says, sprinting to the edge of the roof and jumping off really quick.

Luke gazes at me and I return it with a glare, he looks over to Sarah who's shaking. "Sarah..."

"Come on!" Jane shouts from below.

The five of us walk over to the edge of the roof, Luke and Nick jump down first. I end up jumping down anyway, which to my surprise, didn't hurt as much as I thought it would... But it still hurt like hell.

* * *

_**A/N: Oof, that was quite the chapter... Hope you enjoyed reading it, I might be updating again to day (most likely).**_

_**A review, favourite and a follow is much appreciated!**_

_**-Inf.**_


	28. Broken Promises

_**A/N: Well, well, well. We haven't seen some Luke/Kirsten interaction (wink wink nudge nudge) in quite a while. Don't worry, it's non-graphical and I'm not gonna tell you what happens now since it'll just spoil it. Hope you enjoy the chapter!**_

* * *

The group was silent, the only noises there were was the sound of leaves brushing in the wind and tree branches cracking.

"Look, Sarah... You can get through this. We both will, I promise." Clementine comforts the girl. Although she was only trying to shove some hope into Sarah's mind, she was wrong. No matter what, everyone was going to die. Luke will, Jane will, Nick will... I will...

"But... I'm not okay." Sarah replies, looking a little uneasy at Clementine.

Clementine peers over to the girl with a worried expression. "Just try. Can you do that?" In which Sarah replied with silence.

"Let her cool off, Clem." I start, eying both the girls in front of me. "She just needs some time to let things sink in." Clementine nods in agreement and walks a little closer to Luke and Jane. I keep my pace next to Nick and keep an eye out for Sarah.

The group of three start talking as Nick and I do.

"How's your arm?" I ask, looking over to the tall boy.

"It's fine. It hurts, but I can live with it. Found some more bandages in that trailer and used it." He sighs, being silent for a moment. "Luke's acting different." Nick states, looking over to me with his same unsteady look. "I dunno why he didn't grab your hand first, you were closer to him. I had to jump to my feet before you got eaten or somethin'."

I shake my head and let out a little sigh. "Thanks for that, by the way. And I don't know why either, Nick. But... it's starting to scare me... a lot." I reply, looking at him with worried eyes.

"Don't be. He won't do anythin' bad, he's not like that." He assures with a jerk of his head towards Luke.

I shrug. "Don't be so certain. This world changes people... it changes everyone. I wasn't like how am I now two years ago, Nick. And I'm sure that goes the same for you, Clem, Luke..."

"Clem's a kid, it hits them worse than us. I mean, look at Sarah." He points to the girl. "She was ready to give up right then and there, she wouldn't have even known they would tear her apart if we left her."

"That's all on Carlos." I turn my head to the boy. "He sheltered her from all of this... He didn't tell her what to do if something went wrong, or if walkers got in. Her hair is basically a fly trap to any walkers, she could be grabbed so easily."

Nick raises an eyebrow at me as he grabs my hair. "But you're hair's pretty long?"

"But it's tied up." I start, grabbing my hair from his hands. "It's not flowing everywhere. And besides... I've been meaning to cut it, just haven't had the time." Silence poured in between the both of us before I spoke up again. "Speaking of hair..." I trailed off, grabbing the burgundy hat he wears and putting it on my head. "Your mullet is actually pretty safe." I laugh.

"It's safer when I have my hat on." He retorts, grabbing his hat from my head and placing it back onto his. "...Not everyone is safe, you know? We could be sleeping and anything or anyone could just creep up on us and kill us." He exclaims, his tone mopey.

"I know. But we can prolong it... Or maybe even survive it?" Who am I kidding... Life like this? There's not a lot of human beings out there anymore, this plague has wiped out nearly the entire population. At least I think...

"We could try, but we won't succeed. I can guarantee you that." He says with determination in his voice.

* * *

As the group comes to a stop at the rundown Civil War sight, we see our remaining group members shivering. It had gotten colder since last night, and I wish I had brought that black jumper with me before we left the cabin.

"Son of a bitch." Mike mumbles in awe, turning around at the six of us. "You found 'em!"

"Yeah, I'm- uh, little amazed myself, to tell you the truth." Luke exclaims with a smile upon his face. "If it weren't for Clem and Jane, well... I don't know what would've happened." I had to agree with him there, we would have probably died if it weren't for them.

Bonnie and Rebecca waddled over. Rebecca holding onto Bonnie for support as she did. "Sarah... how you doin', hun?" She softly greets as Sarah awkwardly walks over to the woman. Rebecca tried to place her hand on Sarah's shoulder, but was immediately denied when Sarah flinched away. "That's okay, sweetie. Whenever you're ready. I'm just glad you're here."

"I second that, Bec." I say with a smile as I walk up to the pair. "You been okay?" I ask, placing a hand on her shoulder.

She nods as a grin spreads across her face. "I'm okay. I appreciate you checking up on me."

"Not a problem." I softly say before she starts to groan as she clutches onto her stomach.

"Is- Is that baby comin' soon?" Luke hesitantly asks with wide eyes.

"Oooh. Oooh." Rebecca moans. "I'll be okay. Just... help me walk around a bit. I'll fill you in." She asks him, releasing from Bonnie's grasp.

Luke nods as he waltzes up to her. "Yeah, yeah. Okay, let's do that." He says, letting Rebecca lean on him for support.

I jolted onto the other side and helped her as we walked around a little. "So, fill us in."

"Well, it's hurts... a lot..." She starts.

Luke looks over to me in concern. I return it with the same glare I gave him back at the trailer park. "Just take it easy, Rebecca." He comforts her while walking over to the fountain. "Here, take a seat. I'll come back in a bit, and you can fill me in then. I gotta talk to Kirsten for a second." He says, gently placing her down and releasing from her grasp. He grabs onto my wrist and pulls me along.

"What?" I ask with a fold of my arms.

"Why're you lookin' at me like that?" He asks as he mimics my arm folding.

"Like what?"

"Like that! Exactly like that." He retorts, pointing towards my eyes. Anger started to spread throughout his expression, but he kept looking behind me, and a bit off to the side. I look behind me to see Jane searching the information board.

I shift my head over to Luke who's still looking at her. Unbelievable. "You are so pathetic." I hiss before walking off on him.

"Hey, hey, what did _I_ do?" He questions as he runs after me and clutches onto my wrist, spinning me around to meet my eyes with his.

"You nearly killed me, that's what you did." I retort, snatching my hand away from his but still keeping my glare on. "You grabbed Jane's hand first and nearly left me to die! If Nick wasn't there, what the hell were you gonna do?!" I spit out at him, still keeping a quiet tone as I watch his angered face turn into shock.

"I- I... I hesitated, okay? I didn't mean to- I mean, I did but..." My glare grew even harder, watching him bounce back a little as I did. "Look, I'm sorry! It was the heat of the moment, I wasn't thinking straight, just... I won't put you in danger again... okay? I promise." He pleaded, giving me his puppy dog eyes as he spoke really fast and hesitantly.

My expression softened once he grabbed my wrist again. Am I overthinking this? Is it really just a simple mistake? "You promise?"

"'Course I do, Kirst." Luke softly mumbles as a smile spread across his face. I couldn't help but smile too before easing into his embrace. He lands a kiss on my forehead before letting me go. "Alright. Go see if Clem needs help with Kenny." He says, nudging me along to the tent.

As I waddle over, I could overhear their loud talking.

"Feeling sorry for myself?" Kenny questions. "The hell do you know, Clementine...?"

"I had to shoot Lee!" Her tiny, trembling voice yelps out. "So don't be an asshole and pretend you're the only one thats lost people!"

Ouch. The memories of Lee started flooding into my mind.

"I don't need to hear this shit." Kenny grumbled, his voice starting to get louder and louder. "I can't even look at you right now!"

I quickly step away from the tent and turn myself around as Kenny brushes past me. I look back over to the tent and unzip it, walking inside and towards Clementine.

"Hey." I start, bending down to her small level and placing a hand on her shoulder. "I heard what you said... About Lee?" She stayed silent, looking away from me. "Hey, it's alright. You're gonna have to deal with these things in a world like this, but once it gets better, I promise, there won't be anymore of that." Once I realized what I said, I was just saying sweet nothings to her. That promise wouldn't mean anything if the world never changed... It kind of reminds me of what Luke just said, that he'll promise not to put me in danger. How can he do that if we already I'm _in_ the danger? Not just me, but everyone?

"I know." She mumbles.

"Oh, shit! Does that mean what I think it does?" Luke shouts from outside, Clementine and I both shifting our heads towards the voice. "What're we supposed to do?!"

Clementine and I bolt out of the tent and up to the group as Rebecca is hunched over with Bonnie holding her.

"Are you okay? How does it feel?" Mike asks her as she feels under her pants.

"It feels wet, that's how it feels." She japes, looking up at Mike with a glare.

"Her water broke?" I ask, walking up to Rebecca and grabbing onto her hand. Seeing if there was water on it, and there was. "Shit... okay... uh..."

"Ooof!" Rebecca slouches some more as the pain hits her hard.

"Oh, Christ..." Jane mumbles.

Bonnie looks up towards me. "We should... I don't know what we should do."

"Aw, fuck." Luke says in a panic.

"Does anyone know anything about babies?" Nick asks, looking around the group.

I look up towards Nick with a hesitant expression. "I sorta do, not that much... Kenny, what about you?" Clementine mentioned him having a kid before, I'm sure he knows about babies...

"Alright, alright... Gimmie a sec." He says, peering over to the group.

"No way can Rebecca travel like this." Luke points out.

"He's right." Jane agrees with him.

I look up towards Luke with a determined look. "We can wait, Wellington isn't that far, now."

"What should we do first, Kenny?" Clementine asks, shifting her head to the man. In which he replies to her with silence.

"Kenny? Come on, you gotta focus." Rebecca pleads at him, hunching over a little more at the pain.

Kenny turns himself around and shakes his head out of his daze. "Right, right. Sorry." He apologizes, turning around to the group. "Clean water for one thing. And blankets."

Bonnie lets go of Rebecca's hold and shivers a little, raising her hands to her shoulders. "And we gotta get out of this damn cold, too." She insists.

"That map shows a couple of buildings nearby. Maybe one of them can do the trick?" Mike suggests, pointing towards the information board.

Bonnie walks over to the information board where a small sign sits pointing behind the tent. "That museum seems like it could be a good start. I'll go."

"I'll go with you." Mike insists, walking over to Bonnie with a slight smile.

"I'll check the building by the river." Jane quickly snaps before walking off into the direction of the building. Well... she was pretty quick to leave.

Luke looks at her awkwardly before turning back to the group. "Okay then. Kenny, you- uh... you and Nick stick with Rebecca. Kirsten and I will check the perimeter for lurkers." I nod my head in agreement and look down at Sarah, Luke following my gaze. "Sarah? Sarah." He calls out, "You just stay here with Rebecca and Kenny, okay?"

Sarah doesn't reply, but keeps a shaky figure as she sits against the rundown arch of the civil war sight.

"Clem..." Bonnie motions Clementine towards her with a distressed look. Clementine waddles over to the woman and looks up at her with her amber eyes. "I know it must've been hard, but thank you for talking to Kenny. I'd love for you to give me and Mike a hand over at the museum, but I was thinking..." She turns her head around to Jane who continues to walk. "How do we know Jane ain't just gonna take off? Maybe you should go with her, make sure she comes back."

Overhearing the conversation, I chime in. "If she wants to leave, she can... She doesn't exactly seem like a team player, and I wouldn't mind." I was actually being serious. I feel a reign of... jealousy, whenever I'm near her.

"What do you mean by that?" Luke asks with a glare towards me.

"Y'know, she doesn't seem to like being around people much..." Bonnie implies, looking over towards Luke. She got that right. "And she volunteered to head off awful fast..."

"She's helped us so far." Clementine claims, looking up at Bonnie and I with her poker face.

"Yeah, no, you're right. Maybe it's nothin'." Bonnie shakes her thoughts off as she looks down at the girl.

"I don't know, just- Keep can eye on her, Clem." I insist, bending down to her level. She gives me an awkward nod before I stand back up, watching Luke keep that glare on me.

Luke shakes the glare off and turns around. "Okay, we're lookin' for clean water, warm blankets, disinfectant." He informs the group.

"That all sound right?" Rebecca asks with pain in her voice as she gazes up at Luke with a strained expression.

"Alright everyone, you know what to do. Let's be fast, and let's be careful." Luke dismisses the group with leadership in his tone. To be honest, it sounded kinda sexy... Okay, really sexy. But I resisted the urge to pounce on him and kiss him to death since, well, everyone was watching. I didn't realize it, but I biting my bottom lip and making a 'love smitten' expression, which I didn't want to show... then Luke saw me.

He raised an eyebrow at me with a smirk written across his face. "What?" He asks as his tone is some sort of... seductive.

"Nothing." I shake my head, looking back up at him with a smile. "Let's go search the perimeter."

* * *

"Nick's pretty pissed at you, by the way."

Luke looks down at me with wide eyes. "What? Why?" He asks as his eyes switch to those cute, puppy dog ones as he lowers his gun a little.

"For not grabbing my hand first." I state as Luke looks awkwardly to the left and away from me. I look down at my knife that I hold and continue. "He said he had to jump to his feet before I got eaten or something." After saying that, I realized it wasn't the best thing to say as Luke looked to the ground with puppy dog eyes. "I'm not mad at you, Luke. You explained yourself. I'm sure that if you explained it to Nick, he'd be okay with it."

"Yeah, I guess." He mumbles. Luke looks over to me and I return it with a smile. A slight grin spreads across his face as he wraps his arm around my hips and pulls me closer to him as we walk. "I'm glad he was there, though. I couldn't imagine losing you."

I lean my head against his shoulder and cradle into his arm a little. "Me neither. But I would have survived, I'm tough, remember?" I remark in a cocky tone while he chuckles a little. "I would have jumped."

"I dunno, with that leg?"

"Hey, I may be hurt, but I am capable of doing physical things." I retort with a slight smile.

He raises an eyebrow at me with a seductive grin. "Oh really?" Whoops, didn't realize how sexual that sounded...

"Mhm."

There was silence between the both of us, I could feel the air thicken with lust as he beamed at me through the corner of his eyes. I was so tempted to just... let loose. Just to relive the moment we shared that night at the lake, just to leave this world again for one moment, for everything to go away...

And I stopped thinking for a moment, I left Luke's embrace of his arm to be held with both of them as they slid down my body. Our lips peacefully collided and it felt _so damn good_. Luke dropped his gun and I dropped my knife, our lips moving together in sync. I felt a warm, fearful feeling in my stomach. It felt _so wrong_, but it felt _so right _at the same time. He grabs onto the hem of my t-shirt and pulled it off, my shirt underneath wasn't thin enough to keep me warm, but Luke's arms were.

Then I realized... we had lives in our hands. Rebecca's, her baby's, Kenny's, Mike's, Bonnie's, Nick's, Clem's... ours... And that's when I pulled away from Luke. I knew this was wrong... Way too wrong.

"I'm sorry, Luke. But..." I sigh, grabbing my t-shirt from the ground. "We can't do this here, or now."

"What? Why?" He asks, as I put my t-shirt back on.

"We need to be searching the perimeter, not... having sex." I bluntly say as I watch his expression sink. "I didn't mean to lead you on."

"But ya still did. This is the second time you've done this to me, Kirst." He japes while he picks up his gun. "We could have done it back at the lodge, when we had time, but you completely shut me down. And now, we might not ever have time to just forget everythin' like we did that night, not anymore-"

"Luke, stop." I cut him off, grabbing onto his wrist. "You need to calm down, okay? You're gonna attract walkers." Luke finally gives in and settles down. "Listen, we can do this later when we know we're safe. Just _not now_. Okay?"

Luke stares at me with those puppy dog eyes again. Something's telling me that he seems broken, or hurt. "Alright." He sighs, "I'm sorry."

I give him a small smile before walking into his embrace. "It's alright. Just take it easy, okay?"

"Okay."


	29. Illusion of Lust

_**A/N: Hope you enjoy this chapter! I'm sure you will. Happy reading, and don't forget to leave a review!**_

* * *

After our little 'moment', Luke insisted that we check up on Rebecca and Kenny, and then Clementine. He was growing quite the liking to her, which I thought was a great thing since she made Luke happy. Hell, she made everyone happy. I'm glad Luke found her in the woods... She reminded me of Claire a little, how she'd put on her pokerface at times, or be silent. A day hasn't gone by where I didn't think of Claire. I miss her a lot, Dad too. I sometimes wonder whether he's alive or not, or if he'd found someone else like Kenny did.

Luke and I didn't speak as we were walking. I felt like I crushed his pride when I completely shut him down after leading him on; which I didn't mean to. I just... didn't think for a moment, and that had been happening lately. I haven't been using my head, and that led to moments like before. I just... really hope it doesn't happen again, not when I really need to be thinking straight.

After speaking to Rebecca and Kenny, they told us that they haven't heard from Clementine in a while. So we hit the bricks and went to see her. Just as we made it to the area, Clementine had just made her way down from the stairs of the observation deck. She made her way towards us and we did her.

"Clem! Clem, hey!" Luke shouts out, grabbing her already gotten attention. "Any luck with that observation deck? We were just checking on Rebecca and Kenny they said they hadn't heard from you in a while."

"The deck might be a safe place we could stay tonight, where Rebecca could have the baby. At least if we can't find something better." Clementine suggests, looking over to the building with the wooden deck attached to it.

Luke shrugs, looking down at Clementine. "I guess that's somethin'." He looks over to me with a slight nudge of his shoulder. "We should go check it out."

I give him a nod before turning back to Clementine. "Is Jane still up there?" I guess that if she was having trouble, Luke and I could help out, or at least take over.

"Yeah." Clementine nods. "She's trying to get the gift shop open."

Luke makes a confused face. "You know, I can't figure her out." He says, walking up beside Clementine. "I mean, she really lays it on the line, but... at the same time, she doesn't show you anything that counts." Gotta agree with him there. Is Jane really helpful to us?

"I'm still not sure what to think about her." Clementine shrugs. "She's strong, and she's been helping us. But she's... cold."

"Cold to the point where it makes me confused." I chime in, watching both of them stare at me.

Luke awkwardly shrugs his shoulders. "Maybe. But nobody's that cold."

"You'd be surprised what two years in the apocalypse does to people." I retort with a shake of my head. "Look at Kenny."

Luke nods his head. "When I look at Kenny now, he just... he seems broken, and broken people get reckless." He states. Yeah... that was true. And relatable. "I know you got a history with him. Look, I think he's a good guy. At least, started as a good guy. But I just think he's had to take more than he can handle."

"You're wrong. Kenny's stronger than anyone. He tries to protect us." Clementine retorts as she folds her arms.

"Clem, he's not invincible. He's been pushed well over the edge..." I reply, watching her expression sink.

Clementine unfolds her arms. "We don't know that."

"I don't know, Clem..." Luke starts, looking down to the ground. "I used to think that... that maybe, all the horror hadn't gotten to you yet." He turns around, meeting his eyes with Clementine's. "...but you watched your friend murder Carver. Not just kill him, but... Clem, you didn't even blink."

That exact same look Luke had given me back at the hardware store was in his eyes again. The 'you're a monster!' look was sent like daggers as soon as he glanced up at me.

"The horror had gotten to her long before we met her, Luke." I painfully let out, watching his expression sink.

Luke shakes his head as he lets out an exhale. "And what about you? You nearly stabbed him to death... and to pile it on top, you watched it all after-"

"Hey, I had my reasons." I retort back in a piercing tone.

"What would you have done if it was you?" Clementine asks Luke as she looks up at him. Her amber eyes gleaming in the sunlight.

"Well, I don't know..." Luke replies, "Really, I don't, I just think... less."

Silence struck for a moment, making it feel awkward and tense.

"I need to... tell the others about the deck." Clementine insists, jerking her head back towards the direction the group are in.

"Yeah. Good, I will, uh... we'll see you back there." Luke agrees as he motions me along with him towards the observation deck.

* * *

"Need any help up here?" I ask, watching Jane spin around on her heels.

"Yeah, I just can't get this stupid gate open." She remarks, giving a small punch to the gate that leads to the gift shop. "Have either of you got anything that'll help?"

"Will my knife do the trick?" I ask, pulling it out of the holster and holding it up.

Jane shakes her head. "No, it just needs to be pulled up. The gate is jammed, but I managed to unlock it." She informs me.

"Okay then." I say, sliding it back into the holster and folding my arms.

"Luke, maybe you can give us a hand?" Jane asks as I walk up to the gate and try to pull it open.

"Sure." He says with a grin. I guess it made him feel a little bit 'manly' that we needed muscle. Or whatever Luke has.

As the three of us try to pull the gate open, I remembered about Bonnie and Mike. I hadn't seen them in a while and I hope they didn't run into any trouble on the way or even at the museum. We all let go of it and recollect ourselves.

"Crap..." I mutter, watching Luke look over to me with a confused look. "I haven't heard from Mike and Bonnie in a while. I'm not even sure if they're having any trouble."

"I could go see if they're okay? Maybe give them a hand?" Jane offers. Well, that was a quick offer...

"Sure, okay. Thanks." I politely thank her, watching her walk down the stairs. "That was weird."

"What was?" Luke asks.

"That she wanted to leave so quickly."

Luke scratches the back of his head. "That's the second time she's done it. It's probably nothin'."

I shrug it off and we continue to try and open the gate.

* * *

After ten minutes, we finally got the gate open. I had to crawl inside while Luke lifted it up, just to fix the jam.

"This place is pretty cool." I admit in a childish tone.

"Yeah..." Luke nods his head, looking around in awe at the untouched items. "There's food, coats..." He trails off as we both continue to search the place.

I went behind the counter to see if there was anything useful that was left here. And sure enough, there was. A pistol and a box of ammo just coldly layed there.

"Hey, look." I motion to Luke, holding the gun up. I check the barrel, but it was empty. Lucky we found the bullets. "Empty... but I found some bullets under here too."

"Go on and load it, then." Luke insists while checking the cabinets. "That'll come in handy if anythin' happens."

I raise an eyebrow at him with an unimpressed look. "No shit, sherlock."

Luke turns around to me with a surprised face. "Don't tell me you used to watch Sherlock?"

Awkwardly staring at him, I let a smile gleam across my face. "Nah, I only use the term. It _comes in handy_." I reply, quickly recalling what he said moments ago.

Luke lets out a laugh as I did too. I grab the box of bullets and move towards the outside of the counter, having my back facing Luke so I could concentrate on loading the gun. Not only that, but I didn't want to zone out again and pounce on Luke. I needed to focus on something so I didn't go completely crazy and rip my clothes off... As weird and creepy as that sounds.

"Finished." I yelp out before turning around to see Luke standing behind me with his hands on his hips. "_Oh my god._" I cry out in shock, fumbling the gun. "You scared the shit out of me!"

Luke lets out laughter as I finally hold the gun still. I lift the back of my t-shirt up and shove half of the gun in my pants. Tucking my t-shirt behind it for easy grabbing.

"Hey, maybe I need that." Luke jokingly japes.

I raise an eyebrow at him before spinning him around and grabbing his pistol, holding it out in front of him.

"I might lose it."

I drop the pistol and spin him around again. Pulling the heavy AK-47 off of his back, again, holding it out in front of him.

"That's Bonnie's."

For a third and final time, I spin him around and disarm the machete from his holster. Holding it out in front of him before placing the AK on the floor.

"What if there's a herd?" He questions with a grin across his face.

"If you can't take out a herd with machete, you can't take out a herd with a pistol or just an AK-47. They run out, where your machete has unlimited uses." I retort back with a smile across my face, dropping his machete onto the floor and folding my arms. "Oh, and I just disarmed you. You're completely vulnerable now." I jokingly state, watching him rub his chin.

"Is that so?" He seductively, yet adorably asks. I nod my head as the smile still contains on my lips. Luke spins me around and pulls the gun out of my pants, but before he could touch my knife, I pull it out and hold it up at him.

"Ha." I yelp out. Wait... He has the gun... _Shit. _"Oh wait..."

Luke holds the gun up to my face in a joking manner.

"It's loaded."

He immediately drops the gun and puts his hands up in surrender.

"I was kidding." I laugh, picking up the gun and putting it on the counter.

We were just staring at each other, that smile was still on my face and Luke had stood next to me, leaning against the counter like I did. And then it happened again... I just stopped thinking and Luke was the only thing in my sight. I could feel my heart pacing, and that exact same warm feeling in my stomach and chest. And before I realized it, I was clinging onto Luke. Or lips moving in sync as our arms were holding onto each other. Luke hesitantly, but slowly pulled off my t-shirt, and this time... I didn't stop him. For a moment, we let go of each other and we undressed ourselves. The whole time, just staring at each other.

I have no idea when this moment is going to come back and bite me in the ass.

* * *

After getting dressed, Luke and I were sitting against the counter.

"I'm glad you and I finally did that again." I softly let out. Watching a smile spread across Luke's face.

"Me too. I just feel so relieved ya'know? It's like I..." As Luke was talking I could see Clementine's little figure standing at the gate. "...It felt-" Luke switches his gaze to follow horrified one, looking straight up at Clementine. "Clementine!" He yelped out, watching her make a disgusted expression. Oh god... oh no... "Jesus, Clem... it-it's not... uh..."

"Fuck." I yelp out, cringing while grabbing my head. "Clem..."

"What's going on?" Clementine asks, looking at us with that same disgusted face. She knew...

"Well, uh... I mean..." Luke stutters, looking back at me.

Before we knew it, Rebecca had come barging in, clutching onto her stomach while slouching down in pain.

Bonnie had followed close behind here. "In here. Let's get you comfortable." She insists before looking over at Luke and I. She shakes her head at me attending to Rebecca.

"What the fuck are you two doing up here?!" Kenny hisses, looking down at both of us.

Luke and I stand up. "Kenny! What's going on?" Luke asks, looking over at him while scratching the back of his head in guilt.

"We got God-knows-how-many walkers out there which YOU guys were supposed to be keeping an eye out for!" Kenny grouches while walking over to Rebecca.

"Hey, hold on a second..." Luke retorts, "Just tell me what's goin' on!"

"What's goin' on is that you're a reckless _fucking_ moron." Kenny japes, watching Luke bounce back a little.

"Guys..."

"I'm reckless?!" Luke retorts, glaring at Kenny. "You know, you got a lotta nerve, Kenny!"

"Guys!" I shout out, having most of the group glance over at me.

Clementine slowly walks over to Rebecca. "Rebecca's having the baby!"

"Now?!" Luke asks. No shit, Luke!

"Naaaarrrggghhhh!" Rebecca screams, slouching over even more.

"F-fuck, I'm sorry." Luke stutters.

Shit... this is all my fault! If I had just restrained myself, this wouldn't of happened! Fuck! "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry... I didn't..." I clenched my fists, forcing it down onto the counter. "Fuck!" No, no, no! I messed up... I messed up so goddamn bad...

"Shit. Shit...!" Rebecca yelps as Bonnie eases her onto the floor.

"Right over here." Bonnie comforts her, laying her down onto the ground. "There you go. Just ride it out."

"I have pills, I think they'll help with the pain." Clementine suggests, holding out what looked like a bottle of Oxy.

I raise an eyebrow at the girl. "How did you get pills?"

"What are they?" Kenny asks, looking wide eyed at the pills.

"Looks like Oxy-" Bonnie says before being cut off by Rebecca.

"I want 'em." Rebecca demands, looking at the pills.

Kenny stops Rebecca in her tracks. "Wait, wait. Is that okay for a pregnant lady?" He asks, looking at Bonnie.

"Give me the fuckin' pills!" Rebecca hisses in demand.

"I'm sure it's okay. I don't think it'll harm the baby at all." I insist as Clementine opens the bottle and grabs two out. Giving them to Rebecca, she shoves it in her mouth.

"Okay..." Rebecca exhales, continuing to take deep breaths.

Mike bolts outside of the gift shop and to the deck. "They're comin' up the stairs!"

Luke looks back at Rebecca and walks forward. "Here, we should..."

Kenny lifts his hands up to stop Luke, still glaring at him. "You wanna help? Get out there and keep those goddamn walkers off of us!" He turns back to Rebecca and grabs her hand. "I'll do this, I've been here before."

"They can't rush us on the stairs! Shoot 'em before they get to us!" Mike insists.

I quickly grab my gun off the counter and hold it in my hand, running towards the deck, I stop in my tracks. "Kenny, you gonna need any help?"

"No, just get out there and make sure they don't pile up here!" He insists, motioning me along to the deck.

I give him a simple nod and continue to run over.

"Here they come!" Mike shouts.

Luke pulls me back away from the gate. "Don't want you getting nabbed, just keep back, okay?"

"Luke, I'm fine."

* * *

_**A/N: Gonna have to cut it off there. Sorry! Hope you enjoyed the chapter and a review is much appreciated! **_

_**-Inf.**_


	30. Precious Life

_**A/N: I hope you enjoy this chapter! I added an extra twist in it since I just didn't feel like cutting a certain character off, I felt like I have a lot of potential with this character in this fanfiction. You probably know who it is, but happy reading!**_

* * *

"Nick, we need you out here!" I shout, aimlessly pointing the pistol at the head-height of the multiple walkers. I squeeze the trigger and a bullet soars through the air and into its skull. Its head jerks backwards as it falls down the flight of stairs.

Through the corner of my eye, I see Nick rushing over towards me. I expected to see him with his rifle, but quickly remembered that Carver's guards had disarmed him.

"I don't have a gun!" He shouts, looking at me in distraught.

"Go get Kenny's gun!" I suggest, pointing towards the bearded man who clutches onto Rebecca's hand while she screams in agony.

Nick bolts over towards Kenny and I keep my eyes on the walkers. They started to pile up, and by the time he got back, Jane had let us know that there was too many.

"Keep shootin'!" Luke demands, not taking his eyes off the gate. "They are NOT getting up here!"

Suddenly, the gate had started to shake. I could hear it's creaking while the bolts started to fling off. We all charged towards the gate and propped our bodies up against it, being cautious not to get nipped. The snarls and teeth clenching of those... creatures, were making me feel paranoid and uneasy. As weird as it sounds, I felt like shooting my brains out from how much it irritated me.

"Find somethin' to block this gate!" Mike demands, pushing his build up against the gate with more force than he had originally put in.

Bonnie looks over to Clementine who stands beside Sarah, looking around to find anything to block the gate. "Help us!" She cries out.

Clementine picks up her pace and runs towards the cannon. Clutching onto it's wheels, she tries to heave it forward. "We could block the gate with this!" She shouts, looking over towards us for help.

"I'll help," Luke alerts towards her, running over to the cannon. "I'm comin'!" Luke grabs onto the cannon and begins to push, turning it around and wheeling it forward to the gate.

As they push, one of the wheels cave into the deck.

"Aw shit!" Luke exclaims, pulling Clementine backwards and away from the cannon.

Bonnie, Mike, Jane, Nick and I jump towards the left of us, closer to the building. The cannon fell through the deck and crashed loudly on the ground beneath us.

"What the fuck is goin' on out there?!" Kenny shouts in anger as his face tenses.

An irritable creaking sound had struck the air, all of us looking up towards one of the belts that held the deck.

"Get back! Get back!" Luke shouts, grabbing a hold of my hand and tugging me with him. My body is pulled forward by his force, but he immediately lets go and pushes himself onto the ground, grabbing a hold of Jane's hand who's dangling from the deck.

"Sarah, hang on!" Bonnie's voice cries out. Wait, Sarah?! I immediately jump towards the edge where Luke lays, watching Sarah flail her arms back and forth, trying to get out from under the boards.

"Sarah!" I shout, I could feel my face angering up. "We're gonna get you out of there, don't worry!"

"Fuck! Fuck, hurry! I can't hold on!" Luke shouts in agony as Jane tries to pull herself up.

"Ahh! Aaahaaah! Help me!" Sarah screams, piercing through my ears.

Clementine jumps towards the edge besides me, forcefully toning her voice. "Jane, save Sarah!"

"Are you crazy?!" She spits back at her, watching Clementine's face anger up. "There's no way she's getting out of that!"

I shake my head at the 20-something year old. Is SHE crazy?! "She _can_ get out of that! Go help her!" I screech, pointing towards Sarah's wailing body.

"It's suicide! Just pull me up!" Jane retorts.

"We can't leave her without even trying!" Clementine exclaims, watching Jane grumble as Luke drops her down to the ground.

Jane lands safely onto the ground and regains her balance. Walking over to Sarah and attempting to grab the boards off of her. Two walkers stumble their way towards Jane, but are taken out by Bonnie.

She lifts up the boards a last time. It didn't even look like she was trying?! "Okay, move!"

"I can't! Help me! Somebody help me!" Sarah cries out, trying to wriggle her way out from the boards.

"I'm trying!" Jane screeches back at her, "You have to listen to me!"

I could see one of the loose boards tetering from the deck, watching it break off and hit Jane straight on the head.

"SARAH!" Luke shouts, watching her scream in agony.

"Oh for fucks sake..." I mumble, grabbing the pistol I have and walking to the end of the deck. "Bonnie, Nick, Mike, keep those walkers off of me!" I demand before crouching down and sliding down the broken half of the deck, shooting the two incoming walkers who come marching over to Sarah. I ignore Luke's pleads and shouts towards me, telling me to be careful.

Jane looks over at me in shock, watching me grab onto Sarah's arms.

"Okay, Sarah! Are you ready?!" I ask, even though I immediately start tugging on her arms. Loosening her a bit, I see a walker come charging towards me. I let go of Sarah's arms and grab my gun, holding it up, the walker's head jerk backwards as it's taken out. I didn't pull the trigger, but I know that one of those three did.

Jane rushes up the half deck and I grumble.

"Are you kidding me?!" I screech before turning back around to Sarah who screams.

Sarah scratches at the boards, trying to squirm out of them. "Please! Help me someone!"

I walk over to the boards and lift them up, which to my surprise, weren't even that heavy. After pushing and kicking away the boards, Sarah squirms free. I grab onto her hand and push her up the deck, watching her safely reach the top with Luke's help.

As I start to climb up, a hand grabs onto ankle, pulling me down the deck and onto the rubble. A walker, snapping it's teeth at me grabs onto my arm, landing it's teeth on my bare skin before it's head suddenly flung backwards. I completely froze up, just slumping down against the half board. I look down at my arm to see blood dripping off of it. No... No, no, no! Oh, God... No! I can't be bit! This is _not_ how I'm going to leave this world!

A fair pair of arms suddenly grab onto me, sliding me up the deck. They were sort of familiar, but I knew they was struggling. As soon as I reached the top, I turned my head around to see Luke bolting towards me. I would've thought Luke was the one that grabbed me... More further behind me, I see Nick slumped down onto the floor, gasping for air as he tired himself out.

"L-Luke... I..." I hesitated, watching the group crowd around me. "I think... I think- I think I'm bit..." I finally mutter out. Luke's face turned into shock.

"W-what...?!" He almost shouted in my ear, grabbing my arm and holding it up to his face. He wipes the blood from my arm and slowly raises his hands up to his head. "Kirst... You ain't bit." He sighed of relief, standing up and pacing around.

"Wait, what?" I question him, looking down at my arm. He had wiped the blood off clean. I'm guessing the gunshot had splattered it's blood on my arm. I am so, _so_ stupid sometimes. "Oh thank God..." I muttered, standing up to be met with a forceful hug by Luke.

"Don't scare me like that, okay?!" He muffledly shouts as his head is buried into my neck.

"Oh shit..." I hear Jane mumble before releasing out of Luke's embrace. "They're climbing up!"

Bonnie spins her head almost immediately over to Jane. "What?!"

"They're gonna make it up here!" She replies.

Luke shakes his head. "Does this shit ever end?!" He rhetorically questions, anger in his tone.

"Apparently not..." Nick mumbles, looking down at the small herd with fear.

Clementine looks up at Luke and tugs on his arm. "We need to break the rest of the deck!"

He looks down at her and nods. "She's right... She's right! Drop the whole deck!" He demands, looking back to the group.

"Drop the... Are you fucking crazy?!" Mike disagrees, looking at Luke like he's insane as he brushes past him with Clementine by his side.

"How are we gonna do that?" Bonnie asks with wide eyes as she walks closer to the separating group.

Luke starts to stomp on the broken part of the deck, Nick joining him. "I don't know, just look around!"

From the corner of my eye, Clementine grabs out her hatchet. Looking down at herself and mumbling. "Look!" She alerts, turning around to the group who do so.

Luke, Nick and I walk over to her and set out eyes on the belt that holds the second half of the deck up. "That'll work! We but the belt, and the whole thing comes down!"

"Boost me." Clementine asks Mike before he grabs onto her waist and heaves her up. Setting her feet on his shoulders, he holds her by his arms to stop her from falling.

She starts to whack at belt, hitting it hardly at her first attempt. The sound of everyone's voice egging her on started to annoy her. "I'm going as fast as I can!" With a third and final hit, the belt flung off.

"Watch it!" Luke alerts as everyone jumped back.

The deck falls, crumbling on top of the pre-rubble and the walkers that had made their way half up.

Mike slowly places Clementine down on the one meter of deck that remained. Luke had pushed me and Nick backwards while Jane and Bonnie had jumped back before it.

The walkers had stopped. They were just standing there, gazing into space.

"Oh... Oh no." A voice cries out. I spin my head around to see Bonnie slightly sulking. I rush over to her to meet my eyes with Rebecca's painful ones.

Kenny was holding the baby flat in his hands. The umbilical cord wasn't in tact with the babies neck, and I was thankful for that. But it wasn't moving...

I painfully walk over to Kenny, crouching down beside him I begin to reach my hands out to grab the baby. I could see Kenny's eyes slowly forming slight tears as he holds it in his hands.

"No..." Clementine mumbles, looking down at the infant with glossy eyes.

I slowly place my two fingers on the baby's neck, waiting to feel a pulse. But before I did, the baby started wriggling and coughing. It's eyes were barely open, and a smile had spread across everyone's faces. Even Sarah's. Rebecca tilted her head back and sighed in relief, giving a little laugh.

Kenny's face lit up, and his lips formed a broken smile that was once broken.

The whole group crowded around the four of us, Mike headed straight for the water and Rebecca had wiggled behind the counter. Bonnie went over to her and helped her get cleaned up.

"It's a boy." Kenny gleamed in a raspy but delicate voice. Alvin mentioned something about wanting a boy, even though he thought it was going to be a girl, anyway.

Luke wraps his arm around my waist, pulling me in closer to him as I lay my head on his shoulder. You'd never think that you'd get a moment like this, in a _world_ like this. The precious glimpse of life being introduced, while there are millions of people who have their's taken away. Man, am I grateful for being here today to see this.

* * *

**_A/N: YEAH. HELL YEAH, SARAH LIVES. I hope you liked that decision. Having Kirsten in the storyline really would alter the choices in the game since it's what she'd do._**

**_I'd really love a review! It only takes a few seconds and would help this fanfiction grow! Thanks!_**

**_-Inf._**


	31. Aftermath

The moans, the snarls, the sound of rubble being stumbled on, and a crying baby kept me awake while everyone was sound asleep. It wasn't only the noise, it was my thoughts. I could have prevented Sarah nearly dying, the walkers piling up here, Rebecca stressfully giving birth... All because I stopped thinking. All because I was an asshole and let myself take over me. I needed to take my mind off things for a while.

Gently, I lift Luke's arm up and place it down on the ground. Sliding away from his body, I stand up. I felt tired, and weak, I could barely stand up but I did, surprisingly. I tip-toed my way over to Rebecca who leans her head against the counter while cradling her child, she looked peaceful.

"Hey." I whisper, sitting down beside her legs with my feet tucked under me.

She gleams up at me with a bright smile. "Hey there." She greets, "I need to ask you somethin'. I hope I'm not prying when I do..." She asks a brief giggle sets upon her lips.

"Ask away."

Rebecca coughs, slowly leaning the baby over towards me. I gently grab it and cradle it in my arms, he was adorable and bright. He looked just like Alvin, too.

"What were you and Luke doing up here when we came in?" She slowly asks as I stiffen up a little, keeping my eyes on the baby. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to, Kirsten."

I kept silent for a moment, slowly shifting my eyes to meet Rebecca's. "Something we shouldn't have been doing." Which was true. We shouldn't have been doing that, we should've waited for a safe time and place to do it, but we didn't.

"Did you guys...?" She slowly asks, not wanting to finish her sentence.

I nod. "Yeah, we did. But... I didn't mean to... I just- couldn't help myself." I reply.

"Without protection or anything?" She asks, her eyes wide.

I raise an eyebrow at the woman in confusion. "Wait, you wanted someone to watch over us while we were... 'doing it.'?"

"No, you dope. I mean..." Rebecca points towards her pants before looking back up at me.

"Oh..." I mumble in realization. "You mean _that_ protection... Well, no. But I know for a fact that I won't be-" I cut myself off as I follow Rebecca's eyes to Clementine's awakening figure that holds herself up in front of Sarah who sleeps.

"Hey Clementine." Rebecca greets the girl as she smiles back at Rebecca.

"Hey. How's he doing?" Clementine asks, crawling over to Rebecca and I.

"He's perfect." Rebecca whispers as I give the baby back to her.

"Aren't you cold?" I ask, looking down at her hands that are covered in goose bumps. She looked cold, let alone felt cold. "I'm sure we could find something around here?"

A deep, familiar voice sprung out from beside us. "We found a coat back at the museum, I think Clem has it." He points to the girl as she brings the coat out.

"I'm gonna go sit on the deck for a bit, keep warm, Rebecca."

* * *

"What are you doing out here by yourself?" A voice calls out from behind me. I spin my head around to see Nick's figure walking up behind me and taking a seat beside me.

My legs were swinging off the side of the deck. Thank God that it wasn't a low deck, or those walkers would be piling up to grab me.

"Thinking." I reply, not taking my eyes off the rising sun.

"About?"

I sigh, "Stuff."

Nick's tone of voice wasn't happy, more irritated that I wasn't giving him full answers. "What kind of stuff, Kirsten?"

I turn my head around to him with a slightly angered expression. "Stuff that I shouldn't have done, happy?"

"Well, I'm not happy." He replies before silence intervened the both of us. "Is it about Luke?" He asks, causing me to sink a little. I slowly nod my head in response. "He told me, you know?"

I felt weird, and exposed. Why would Luke do that? I mean, I know it's his best friend and all, but that doesn't give him the right to tell him. "He shouldn't have."

Nick stayed silent for a moment, looking away from me. "Why'd you do it?" He slowly asks, his voice was low as always.

I shrug, pulling a corner of my lips. "He was so eager to..." I force out, pulling my hands into my lap. "And I stopped thinking for a moment and I fucked up. I fucked up so bad... Sarah nearly died, Rebecca gave birth in stress, I nearly got myself killed and that could've got you killed."

I could feel Nick's hand on my shoulder. "It's not your fault, Kirsten."

"It is, I had sex and nearly got people killed." I retort, pleading for him to realize that it's true. It was all my fault. "I did something so stupid, so dangerous, so risky. I stopped thinking and people's lives were on the line. I can't even sleep knowing that I did that! Do you know how bad I feel?! I feel _fucking horrible! _I nearly got people killed for fucks sake!"

Nick looks at me wide eyed and in shock. His hand was no longer on my shoulder and I just realized that my fists were clenched up. I lean a little backwards and soften my expression. "I'm..." I sigh, lowering my hands. "I'm sorry, Nick... I didn't mean to... do that."

Nick stayed silent, so I turned away from him. Seeing that it was quiet, hoping that I didn't wake anyone up.

"I know how you feel." Nick muttered, still settling his eyes on his legs that dangle off the deck along with mine. "I've screwed up so much, too. Pete, my mom..."

"Hey," I place my hand on Nick's shoulder, comforting him. "The thing with Barbara was no where near your fault. And whatever happened with Pete wasn't either."

Nick slowly nods his head. "Thanks..." He mutters before standing up. His expression had no hope what-so-ever in it, and it saddened me. "I'm gonna go back to sleep, you should get some rest, too."

A scoff escapes my lips as I look up at him. "That'll be while." I slightly smile, watching him walk back into the gift shop.

It was all quiet outside, besides the slight chatter from Rebecca and Clementine, everything was okay. Until I heard one of the gates open...

I spin my head around immediately to see Clementine standing near Jane. "Where are you going?" I ask, standing up from the edging and brushing off my pants.

Jane looks over to Clementine and I and shakes her head, looking over sorely at us. "Aw, shit..."

"What are you doing?" Clementine asks, stepping closer towards the woman with a confused expression upon her face.

Jane bites her bottom lip, "Listen... I'm sorry. I gotta go." She says, jerking her thumb to the gate before opening it.

"Go as in...?"

"As in leaving." She replies, "I need to leave." Jane turns away from the two of us. "You know... Jaime... Sarah-"

"Don't even try to bring up Sarah." I retort, cutting off the woman who looks over to me confused. "I think it's best that you leave. You can't try to kill a young girl just because you think she's a 'liability'. That's not your call."

Jane shakes her head. "I didn't try to kill- I tried to help her." To which I respond with a scoff. "But, don't worry... I'm leaving anyway. I'm not going to stick around and watch that happen to Clementine... or you."

Clementine's eyes widen along with mine, I unfold my arms and glare at the woman. "But... I thought you believed in me?" She asks, her big amber eyes looking up at Jane in confusion. It's like she was playing mind games with her, or me.

"I do..." Jane replies blankly, staring at the ground. "But give it enough time... Everyone's luck runs out." She says, turning around to the two of us.

"Ain't nothing to do with luck." I reply, watching Jane walk forward to the staircase.

"Listen..." Jane turns around. "When the shit hits the fan, 'cause it always does, remember that you're both capable of making it on your own." Jane informs the both of us. She was right, I was very much capable to be on my own, but I believe that there's safety in numbers. "It's not an option for everyone. But if things start heading south, don't let them grab you down with them. You don't owe them anything."

"I owe my group more than you can imagine, Jane." I reply, my tone had the slightest of anger in it. "We've all had different shit happen to us, but these guys have saved my life a million times. I'm not going to let go of them just because of a bad situation, that's not how I work."

"I owe these people everything. They've kept me safe, looked out for me. I wouldn't be here without them." Clementine responds, looking over to me with a smile. I couldn't help but smile back, placing my hand on her back in comfort.

Jane peers over her shoulder, waving her hand. "Well they can't keep you safe forever."

"No one is safe forever." Clementine counters, looking up at Jane with her poker face. For a little girl, she sure as hell knew a lot.

Jane nods her head in response. "Good. Okay." She slowly walks over to the two of us, pulling something out from her back pockets. "You two take care of yourselves, I mean that." I nod, folding my arms. I was still angry at her, no doubt, but I still saw where she was coming from.

"We will." I agree, looking down at the nail file she had pulled out from her pocket. "A nail file?" I ask, looking up at her.

"Versatility is _not_ overrated." She smirks, handing the nail file to Clementine who grabs it from her hands.

"Thanks." She says, placing it in her back pocket.

"I- um... I gotta go." Jane insists, jerking her thumb back to the staircase.

Clementine and I both nod, Jane walks down the stairs while Clementine takes a seat on the edging of the railing, placing her legs between the gaps. I stand right next to her, leaning my arms on top of the railing and pushing my fringe out of my face, letting out a sigh.

I could hear footsteps behind me, but I didn't move an inch. Keeping my head in my hands, I look down at Clementine.

"Hey." Luke's familiar voice called out before I can feel his presence on the other side of Clementine, leaning against the railing. "Thought you'd be asleep by now. You okay?" He asks, directing his question to Clementine.

I couldn't help myself, but I felt anger for Luke. I still loved him, but I felt angry. I felt like ripping his head off, he made me feel so weak, so vulnerable, so... powerless. With a click of his fingers, it's like I'd just grab onto him and kiss him to death. He's the reason why my mind turned into water and my thoughts drowned, the reason why people nearly died today. All because he had some sort of power over me, power that I loved, but at the same time, hated. All because I let myself get in the way of others...

Clementine, not looking up at the man, answered his question. "I'm fine."

"Okay, good." Luke exclaims through a sigh of relief. "Hell of a night, though..." He could say that again... "Temperatures dropping, we're low on food... I think we've gotta stay put for a while. You know, for Rebecca and the baby?"

I slowly nod, taking my hands away from my head.

"So I'm thinking... as soon as it gets light, Jane and I should go explore, see if we could find some place to scavenge." He continues. Wait, Jane? Why Jane?

"You want to go explore with Jane?" I ask, my face was clearly displeased. "She tried to kill Sarah-"

"What?" Luke retorts, cutting me off. "The hell are you talkin' about?" He asks, looking at me as if I was crazy.

Clementine looks down at her feet. "Jane left... For good."

"When did she leave?" He asks, he had anger in his tone... It was... weird.

Clementine points towards the door that Jane had exited out of. "Just now."

"Are you serious?!" Luke asks, his tone now _full_ of anger. "She didn't say anythin' about leaving to me! What the fuck?!"

My eyes widen before they glare at Luke's angered face. "Are you kidding me, Luke?! You actually liked her being here?! Look at how much shit she caused between Sarah and Clementine!" I yell back at him, turning around to Luke with clenched fists as he made his way over to the wall.

"She was just looking out for the group, Kirsten!" He retorted, looking over to me in anger. Was he serious?!

"Looking out for the group?!" I scoff, placing my hands on my hips. "She's not a team player, Luke! When I went down there to help Sarah, they boards where not as heavy as she was making them out to be! She was trying to get rid of her, a fifteen-year-old girl who was helpless! Defenseless!" I shout, walking up closer and closer to Luke as I spoke. "And you think she was looking out for the group?!"

"Hey! Keep it down!" Kenny demanded in a whisper, walking into the room with the infant in his arms.

"And to think you and I did what we did?" I scoff again, this time with a slight laugh as I stepped closer towards him, he backed away a little.

"Hey!" Kenny lightly shouted, but I kept my eyes on Luke's shocked face. "Of all the childish bullshit, you two..."

Luke's face turned to anger once again as he glared at Kenny, walking away from me. "Childish? Goddamnit, Kenny. You know what? Just... lay off."

"No!" Kenny retorts, "You put our lives, this BABY'S life at risk, so you two could roll around like fuckin' teenagers!"

I closed my eyes, clenching my fist. I knew that what I was about to say, would ruin just about everything Luke and I had... "...It was an accident!" I spit out, watching Luke spins around to me in disgust. "...I'm sorry, Luke. But, it was. It was an accident, I never meant to do that... I just... did."

"An accident?" Luke softly asks, his expression had softened and he started to frown. "You call that an accident?!" He started to shout, slowly walking up to me.

"Yes!" I shout back, "I call whatever that was meant to be, an accident! Get over it!" I hiss, I didn't notice that my eyes were teary.

Clementine's face turned into annoyance, I could tell that she didn't like the arguing. "Stop it! You guys are both acting like jerks. All you guys do is fight."

Luke looked down to the floor, before focusing back on Kenny. "Look, I'm sorry. Okay? I fucked up... But you know what? Her and I-" He cut himself off, glancing over at me with pleading eyes. I look up at him, then swap my attention to the ground. "I needed it, okay? I mean, look around you, okay? Everything is SHIT! So forgive me for wantin' to enjoy one moment of somethin' else!" Luke shouted, turning around to the landscape.

"Fine..." Kenny says in a calm voice. "But this baby's... he's what matters now. Got it? So get your shit together. Both of you."

Mike appears from the gift shop and waddles onto the deck. "Is everything alright?" He asks.

Luke glares over towards me with a fierce anger in his eyes. "Everything's fine."


	32. Mentality

_**A/N: Hope you enjoy the chapter! I'd really appreciate a review, favourite and follow! Not that much dialogue in the first half, but there is in the second half. Enjoy!**_

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After the heated arguement we all engaged in, we decided to stay a few more days for Rebecca's health... And ours. I felt like I was going mental, I couldn't sleep, I didn't feel like eating...I was worrying Rebecca and Nick, Kenny also asked if I was okay. Luke wasn't speaking to me and I was doing the same to him, I couldn't stand him right now, let alone look at him. Sarah popped in a few times with Clementine to say hello, I could see that she was struggling to keep up, but Clementine had been helping her. I spent the whole day in the extension to the gift shop just sitting there. I'd hold the baby every once in a while, but that was the closest thing to socialization that I got.

I feel like I need to let my anger out, let all my frustration out and start to gain my normality back. I leant on my forearms and lifted myself up, shaking off the dizzy spell I had. I walked onto the deck and into the gift shop, grabbing my thigh holster on the rack just beside the gate.

"Where are you going?" A faint little voice asked, It was Sarah. "It's not safe out there if you're going out there..."

I spin my head around to Sarah as I attach my thigh holster to my leg. "I'll be okay, Sarah." I nod, letting in a fake smile upon my lips. "Don't tell anyone I'm going out there." I softly ask, her eyes widen at my comment.

"But-"

"Please, Sarah..." I whisper, grabbing onto her hands. "I need to go and do something... I'll be back in a little bit, okay?"

Sarah looks up at me through her red framed glasses, and gives me a small nod after a moment of consideration. I stand up and give her a smile before walking back out to the deck, and into the extension.

I lightly step down the staircase and make it to the door. As soon as I place my hand on the door knob, the icey, numb feeling hit my nerves, flowing up my forearm. I twist the door knob and open the door a little bit, peeking my head through the space and looking around. The walkers had disappeared throughout the hours, only a few remained. What looked like three walkers were scattered in different places, extremely far apart from each other. I reached down and grabbed my knife, and as soon as I touched the handle, all my anger built up in me.

"Okay..." I mutter under my breath, exiting the extension and stepping onto the snow covered dirt.

The first walker, which was the closest walker, was sitting up against the brick wall five meters away from the door. It was decayed to hell, it's legs weren't intact with it's body at all. This walker looked like it starved to death, there was barely any flesh on it and it's clothes were hanging off it's body. It was an easy one to take out, which made it better so I didn't get nabbed in the process.

It lightly snarled as I approached it, I pull my arm across my chest and aim the knife directly at it's head. It's arms slowly flailing as it tries to grip onto me. I needed to learn not to freeze up whenever I'm almost bitten, or grabbed. I needed to learn to take my frustration out on these things... I needed to learn these two things. Just these two...

I swing my arm away from my body, piercing the skull of the reanimated corpse as my knife slides into it with force. "Eeeuuugghhh!" I let out a groan, which was more like a battle cry as I do, watching it's arms flop back down. I pull my knife out of it's skull, and the blood bubbles and oozes, splattering onto my legs. Kind of like the blood, I could feel a warm feeling in my stomach. Something I never felt before... This wasn't just rage, it was _intense_ rage. Rage that made me feel like bashing this creature's skull in. And that's exactly what I thought of doing.

I moved closer to it, pulling my knife up in the air as I place my hand on it's disgusting, slimy shoulder. I forcefully push the knife down into it's head again, letting out another groan. I lift my hand up again, and repeat the action. Over and over again, digging further and further as I keep ramming the knife into it's head. Letting out groans, battle cries, moans and light sobs as I do. Soon, it was blood dripping. It's head reminded me of something... of someone... Carver. It looked exactly like Carver's head after what Kenny had done...

I step away from the walker and pant like a dog would after catching a ball, my clothes were splattered with blood. That reminded me of something too... It reminded me of my old clothes I was wearing when I made my way into Carver's camp. It reminded me of when Bonnie had given me these new clothes, and when I met Luke... But I was still enraged, I was sulking, sobbing if you'd call it, but I was _enraged. _

I could hear footsteps a couple meters behind me, they didn't sound like the dragging of feet sound that walkers made. It sounded human... It sounded alive. Slow, light footsteps. I spun around completely, holding my knife up to the potential threat that was awaiting me.

"Who the fuck... are..." I trailed off, my eyes widened as I saw the tall, big builded figure from a small distance away. I opened my mouth to speak, but words didn't want to project. "D-Dad...?"

The man looks at me with his soft eyes and held his hands out, he held them forward. From behind him, a smaller figure had appeared. It was a girl, she was familiar. Very familiar. Claire. It was Claire, my sister who I watched get devoured in front of me was... alive...?

"Claire...?" I mumbled, slowly walking closer to the two. My vision started to go blurry, I wasn't seeing properly. I shook my head vigorously and rubbed my eyes, and as I opened them, I had the scare of my life. Two walkers were nearly on top of me, wailing and snarling over towards me, and were soon a meter away from me.

I backed away, but was soon stopped by the brick wall. I held my knife up and waiting for one of them to get closer. As one did, I kicked them in the knee. It's kneecap bending the other way, it was deformed and broken. As it limped, I rammed the knife straight into it's skull. The other walker was right behind it, leaning against the walker that had my knife in it's head, wailing it's arms to try and grab me. I pushed the dead walker away from me, my knife sliding out of it's head and blood spilling onto me.

It caused the other walker to fall backwards, landing onto the ground. I quickly ran up to it and slammed my knife down into it's head, it's arms had stopped trying to reach for me and I pulled my knife out. Panting, I fell backwards onto the ground. Landing on my butt, I looked at the two walkers in disbelief. I had just seen the only family members that exist or existed in this world in an illusion, a hallucination. I was going crazy... out of my mind. Mental. I curled my knees up. Wiping the tears I had away from my face, but more and more just spilled out. Blood droplets were also on my face, and they had a disgusting stench. I ignored it, though.

After remembering everything that had gone on in these past two years, sobbing over it, I finally and slowly stood up. Making my way back to the door of the extension, I place my hand on the cold doorknob again. This time, it didn't bother me. I twist the knob and slowly walk inside, quietly closing the door. I lightly make my way up the stairs and I could hear Luke's voice.

"Sarah... please." He sounds like he was pleading with her. "Tell me where she went, you're not in trouble."

"C'mon, darlin'. It's okay, just tell us where she is." A soft voice murmurs in comforting tone. It sounds like Bonnie. "We gotta make sure she's safe."

After moments of silence, another voice finally spoke up.

"We gotta go look for her, she could be in danger. And it's cold out there, too." What sounds like Nick's voice asks, he sounds like he was worrying.

With an angered expression, I slowly stumbled onto the deck and to the front of the gate, slowly looking up at group as their eyes set on me. Silence. It's all that flowed in the air right now, was silence. Not even the baby made a peep... Until Luke did.

"Jesus Christ, Kirsten. Where the hell were you?!" Luke almost shouted, walking over towards me with the same angry expression I had on him.

"Out." I muttered, placing my knife on the rack.

"Out?!" He shouted again. It was irritating, it made me want to scream my lungs out at him. "Out where?! Where the hell could you have gone-?!"

"I went out, alright!" I screamed at the top of my lungs, cutting him off as I glared at him. "Can you just get off my _fucking_ back?!" I added on, taking off my thigh holster and putting it on the rack along with my knife.

Now would be the time that Kenny would tell us to both shut up, or quiet down... But he didn't. He went downstairs instead, letting us ramble on to each other.

Luke placed one of his hands on his hips and rubbed his forehead with the other. "You are covered in blood, okay? Can you atleast tell me what happened?" He asked, quieting his voice yet it was still hard and firm.

"No." I mutter, turning around on my heels and making my way back to the extension. I could feel a hand grab onto my wrist, Luke's hand for that matter. I turned and pulled my arm away from him, giving him an almost deadly glare. "I said, no." I spat back out at him, watching his eyes widen as he stepped backwards.

"Luke..." Clementine mutters, tugging on his arm and trying to pull him away. He looks down at her with those puppy dog eyes that he's so well at portraying. "Give her some space..." She suggests. That girl is a smart one.

Luke looked up at me with those eyes, pleading towards me.

I looked at him straight in the eyes, biting onto my lip and tensing up. "If you want to know what happened so badly, go outside and see for yourself." I mutter, in almost a whisper. Just so Luke could hear it.

Looking at me like I was going to kill him, he brushed past me and went straight into the expansion. I could hear his footsteps paddle down the staircase and open the door. I didn't hear it shut, so I assumed that he peeked his head through.

I set my gaze upon the group who look towards me, some in fear, some looking away.

Sarah slowly looked up at me from behind Nick, who stood there with his arms folded and his eyes set on the ground. "I'm sorry, Kirsten..." She whispers, pushing the frame of her glasses back to her face as they slipped.

"It's okay." I whisper back, "It's alright..." I trailed off, placing my hand on my forehead as I stumbled around. My head was hurting like crazy, that same feeling that I felt outside started to come back. It was exactly the same, but I wasn't angry. I ran over to the deck and sat down, tucking my feet under my thighs, I placed my hands on the edging of the deck and felt horrible. The next thing I knew, I was spilling the contents of my stomach up and out of my mouth. The vile taste in my mouth lingered as I tried to spit it out.

"Jesus, Kirsten. Are you okay?" I hear a voice call out from the gift shop, as it does, it grows louder and louder but my hearing started to fade and so does my vision. I start to teeter, my head was pounding and I was shaking. I was on the verge of passing out, I felt arms hold onto me and black clouded up my vision.

I blacked out.

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_**A/N: Cliffhanger because yes? Hope you enjoyed the chapter and I'd really love a review!**_


	33. Stranger In The Snow

I struggled to hold my body up, grasping onto my pounding head. I found myself in a dark green, shady blanket, and it was warm. My stomach had a revolting feeling inside of it, like it was twisting and turning. Like someone was grabbing it from the inside and tearing it apart.

My eyes set on the sleeping figure at the other side of the extension, they were sitting up with their head slouched, as if they were watching me. It was Luke. I sat up and leaned against the wall, rubbing my eyes with my weak hands.

"Luke?" I whisper bluntly, waiting for a response that I didn't get. "Luke, are you awake?" I ask again. Was I happy with Luke right now? No. Did I love Luke? Hell yes. I have the slightest ball of anger that's still charged up inside of me for that man, but it's something I can get over.

Shakily standing up, I dropped the blanket on the ground, walking over to Luke. I bent down to his level and pushed his shoulder in the slightest way, "Luke?" No response.

I figured that I'd go for a walk, just to cool myself down and get my head straight. I stood up from his level, as I did, my knees clicked. I slowly walked over to the deck, peering my head into the gift shop to see everyone asleep... Besides Nick.

"What are you doing up?" Nick asked in a whisper, eying my clothes up and down. "You still feel like shit?" He asks, "Because you look like it, too." He snickered, to which I replied with a sarcastic smile.

"I'm going for a walk. If any asks, make sure they know. I don't want people worrying about me. Just... make sure they don't try to stop me." I inform him as he looks at me bug eyed.

"Are you crazy?" He stands up, walking over to me. "It's cold out there, and it's dangerous, you could pass out again and no one could help you. It's pretty damn risky."

I shake my head, brushing past him to the rack where my knife and thigh holster sat. "I'll be fine, I won't be gone for long. But, if I am gone for a while, just send someone after me."

"But-"

"And don't send Luke." I demand, attaching my thigh holster. "You can come get me yourself or get Mike or Bonnie to or something."

Nick sighed, pressing his hand to his forehead. "What am I supposed to do when Luke goes running after you?" He asks, leaning onto one side of his body.

"You stop him? You know, like any other normal human being?" I retort with a slight smirk. Nick reluctantly nods his head after a moment of consideration and walks back into the gift shop.

I spin around on my heels and walk back into the extension, tiptoeing past Luke's sleeping body and reaching the staircase. Lightly going down it so I didn't wake anyone up, I reached the door. Holding onto the door knob and twisting it, letting myself out.

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It had been twenty minutes since I left the others, and Nick was right, It was pretty damn cold. As I walked, I was shivering, goose bumps were up and down my arms and the blade of my knife was too cold to touch.

I hadn't eaten in almost three days, I mean, I drank water. But, I didn't eat. I haven't felt like eating since Luke and I done what we did and it confuses me. Am I sick? Do I just need to eat? Do I need more sleep? Damn, I really wish Carlos was around. I missed him, although I didn't agree with him sometimes, he was a good man.

As I kept walking, no walkers were in sight. Which was good. I heard a couple twig breaks and leave crunches, but nothing moved when I turned around. I kept a firm grip on my knife and I was so stupid to forget my gun, I left it back at the gift shop.

I finally let my guard down once everything was quiet again. I let go of my knife and stopped walking in a quicker pace. I was relaxing, and I was calm. This was something I needed, just to relax and let my thoughts go. It helped, it helped a lot. I could finally-

I was snapped out of my thoughts.

"Well, hello there, darling." A voice called out from behind me. I immediately spun around on my heels and grabbed my knife out for it to be smacked away from my grasp. "Now, that's not necessary." The stranger shook his head as a grin spread across his face.

"Who the hell are you?" I bluntly asked the man as he held a shotgun up to my head.

He shrugs. "That doesn't matter... Are you alone?" He asks, looking around the landscape.

"Are you?" I retort, the man shakes his head.

"I'm not alone, darling." He smirks, "But I'm far away from them, my group would be displeased with what I'm about to do."

My eyes widen, is he going to kill me or something? "What, you're gonna kill me?"

The man rubbed his chin with his free hand as a devilish grin spread across his face. "Eventually," He shrugged, "after I get what I want from you."

"I haven't got any supplies, there's nothing you can get from me-" I quickly retort, tensing up as the man stepped closer, pushing the barrel of the shotgun into my forehead.

"Oh, yes there is..." He laughs. I push the shotgun away from my head with my hand, just for it to be brought back up again, digging even more into my forehead. "Hey, hey, hey!" He shouts, stepping closer. "You don't need to do that, darling. I just want one, sweet little thing before I put a bullet through your pretty face."

I knew what this guy meant. There was no way I would let him do that, not in my lifetime. "You think your gun scares me?" I scoff, "I'm not afraid to die, but I _will_ stop you from putting your hands anywhere on me."

The man nods his head with an impressed expression. "So you're a feisty one, huh?" He asks, "We'll see how long that lasts."

Suddenly, a searing pain lingers throughout the left side of my face, I clutch onto my cheek to stop it. The man had whacked me with the end off his shotgun, sending me down to the ground. He slowly walks over my figure and I send a hard kick to his shin, causing him to recoil and swear at me.

I kicked the shotgun out of his hand and he glared at me, bending down and grabbing my wrists to stop me from hitting him, he kicked me with his hard boot, straight to my thigh where my gunshot wound was.

"Ahh! Fuck!" I screech, trying to wriggle my wrists out of his grasp, but I fail. He pushes me further into the cold snow and sits on top of me, holding both of my wrists in his one hand. He runs his free hand down the side of my body, stopping at the beginning of my jeans.

He starts to maniacally laugh, "Now, we're gonna do this quick and easy, no hassles, no screaming. Got it?" He demands, unbuttoning the button on my jeans.

"Let go of me you psycho fuck!" I shout, tears starting to well in my eyes as the pain of his hands holding onto my wrists start to hurt even more.

He starts to move closer towards me, placing his filthy lips on the curve of my neck. I flinch, an adrenaline rush kicked into my body and I started to shake out of his hands. I place my hands on his shoulders and push his torso backwards, using my legs to kick him in the back of the head repeatedly.

"Get! Off! Me!" I screech in between kicks, using my body to turn over and push him onto the ground.

I roll over onto my stomach when he's finally off of me, watching him roll around on the ground as blood seeps through his fingers from the back of his head. I slowly crawl my way over to my knife, my energy had drained (What's left of it, anyway) and I was growing weaker. Just as I am about to grab my knife, the man's hard boot landed straight into my stomach.

I recoiled, gasping for air as he smirks. He spun me onto my stomach and he bent down, sitting on my thighs so I couldn't move my legs.

"I told you to do it nice and easy! Now look what you've done!" He shouted, sliding his hands from the side of my stomach, down to my hips, and finally caressing my rear as he laughed.

I flinched again, screaming for him to let go of me. "Get off me! Get the fuck off me, you fucking rapist!" I screamed, I was inches away from my knife, trying to move forward more and out of his hold. I felt the man get off my body, only for him to hold onto my ankles and drag me further away from my weapon.

"No matter how much you fuckin' move, you're still gonna love it!" He insisted, still dragging me by my ankles. This man disgusts me, he's a delusional asshole and I want to kill him. I turned my body around, leaning on my back. I kicked the man's hands with the ankle that he let go of, but he didn't let go.

I use my free leg to pull myself up, I hop along as he drags me. As he does, I start to hop faster. I managed to get myself only thirty centimeters apart from him. I use all the force I could, and use the leg that he was grabbing on to launch him to the ground. I fall backwards from the force as did he. I fall onto my butt and glare at the man for a moment before looking around to see if I could get any weapons. My knife. It was five meters away from us, and so was his shotgun.

I crawl as fast as I can to my knife, grabbing onto it, I also lift up his shotgun. I stand up and as soon as I turn around, he was right behind me. I instantly whack the man in the face with the shotgun with all the force I can put in to it, like it was my instinct to. He falls hard to the ground, spitting out blood.

"You little bitch!" He yells, grabbing onto my ankles and pulling me down to the ground. He starts to crawl up my legs and I aim the shotgun at his head, but he grabs the barrel and aims it to the side, trying to pull it out from my hands.

"Let go!" I scream, clenching my teeth as I try to pull it from him. "Let the fuck go!" Squirming, we both fight over it, and he was starting to overpower me. I hold onto the shotgun with one hand and all the power I have, and fumble for my knife with my other hand which was beside me. I finally had it. I grab onto it and lift it up, thrusting it straight into the side of the man's neck, his blood oozing all over me.

The man gurgles on his blood, falling to the side of me with my knife still in his neck. I hold the shotgun tight and stand up, moving away from him, I aim the gun directly at his head.

I squeeze the trigger and a bullet soared through the air and straight into his head. I fell backwards onto the ground and started to pant. I felt violated, disgusted. At least he didn't get to do it, thank god. I finally stand up as I caught my breath. I buttoned up my jeans and walked over to the man's lifeless body, pulling my knife out of his neck.

"Kirsten!" A voice calls out from far behind me. I don't turn around for a while, only until I hear rushing footsteps from behind me. I turn myself around to be met with a colliding embrace by Luke, peering over his shoulder, I see Nick finally rushing up. "Jesus Christ, what the hell happened?!" He asks in a tone of panic, releasing from the hug and holding me by my shoulders.

I look straight into his pleading eyes and collapse in his arms, tears sliding down my face as he holds onto me tightly.

"Shh, it's okay..." Luke whispers, slowly stroking the back of my head. "Are you hurt? Are you okay?" He softly asks, pulling me away from him.

"He..." I mumble through my cries, the words didn't want to come out. "He tried to... But, he didn't..." I swallow the cries, finally catching my normal breath and looking up at Luke. I smile. "It's okay... I got him."

"No, Kirst. It's not okay, you're hurt!" Luke retorts, bending down to my legs, looking at the bandage that covered my bullet wound which was now soaked in blood. "You're bleedin' again." He shakes his head, standing up. "I want you to listen to me, okay? You're not okay, you're hurt. You're not thinkin' straight, alright? You're gonna get inside, you're gonna eat, and you're gonna rest. I don't want you comin' out here anymore, got it?"

I giggle, looking at him with weird eyes. "You sound like my dad." I laugh again, even harder this time.

Luke raises an eyebrow, looking back at Nick who looks at him in concern. "Let's get you inside."

* * *

_**A/N: Sorry to cut it short, but I think that was quite the eventful chapter. I felt so bad writing this, ;-; I'm sorry, Kirsten. . New chapter should be out in a couple days time, by then, episode 5 would be out and I can go straight on to writing it. **_

_**I'd really, really, really, really love a review. It only takes a few seconds and would help me greatly! Thanks for reading!**_

_**-Inf.**_


	34. New Ways of Living

"When was the last time she ate?" Clementine asks, kneeling down beside Luke and I who sit against the counter.

I shake my head at her and refuse the food she's trying to give me. "No, I'm okay. I promise... I'm not hungry. Give it to Rebecca, she needs it more."

"Kirsten, you're as pale as a damn ghost, you look like you're going to pass out again." Luke insists, grabbing the packet of peanuts from Clementine's hands and giving them to me. "You _need_ to eat, okay? I'm not gonna let you starve."

"Alright... fine." I reluctantly grab the packet of peanuts from his hands, looking up at him with a slight smirk. "And by the way, I've gone longer than this without food." Luke gives me a displeased look while I tear the little foiled packet open and pour the contents into my hand. I felt bad for eating in front of everyone, but Luke had said that they already ate.

"Wh-what happened out there?" Sarah lightly asks, looking wide eyed at both Luke and I.

I look away from her and over to Nick who was standing near the gate with his arms folded. He was just staring down at me in sorrow, like he was guilty for something.

"She just got attacked by a walker, Sarah." Luke softly eases into his words, looking at her with a reassuring expression. "She's okay... probably."

"I'm fine." I assure him, giving him a painful smile.

"How's that leg treating you?" Kenny asks, walking over to the group of us with the baby in his arms, cradling it.

I shrug. "It hurts... a lot. But I haven't checked it out, yet." I replied, looking down at my jeans that are stained with blood.

"Will you be able to travel? 'Cause we're leavin' soon and-"

"Soon?" Luke cuts him off, looking up at the man with a disagreeing look. "We can't go soon, okay? Her leg is banged up, Rebecca doesn't seem to be lookin' any better and Sarah," He stops himself from talking, looking over to the girl who looks bug eyed at him. "We need to wait a couple more days, okay? Until everyone's good and rested."

"Couple more days?" Kenny retorts, looking down at Luke with an angered face. "We're low on food, water- We need to get across that river and get to that Church. Once we scope that place out, we head straight to Wellington! That's our best shot!"

"Guys..." I mutter, looking at both of them as they continue to bicker.

Luke shook his head, standing up to meet his eyes with Kenny. "We can't get to Wellington if we're too banged up to make it, Kenny!"

"We just need to push further, she can walk! This isn't up for debate!" Kenny shouts, glaring at Luke.

I stand up with the support of the counter, watching the baby's face tense up and squirm, tears flowing down his soft cheeks as he started to cry.

"Guys!" I alerted them loudly, stepping between the two.

"Kenny?" A faint voice questions. I look behind me to see that Rebecca awoke from her sleep. "Wh-Where is he?" She asks.

Kenny glared at Luke for a second more before spinning on his heels and walking over to Rebecca. Handing the infant over to her, he then walks back over to Luke.

"Listen," I start, making sure they were a good distance away from each other. "I can walk, alright? I'm fine. We get a new bandage for my leg and then we hit the road." I casually demand, looking over to Luke specifically. I understand why he's so protective, he doesn't want to lose me. One little injury could stop me from saving myself or someone else. "And besides, I'm not a liability. If I can put up with the gunshot in the first place and walk through a herd, I can manage to travel."

Luke looks down at me with those puppy dog eyes, folding his arms. "Kirsten... I know you've got a bigger pair than I do when it comes to injuries and what not, but ya gotta be careful, okay? You can't put yourself through hell, it-it's not good for you." He insists, taking hold of one of my hands.

"Hell isn't all that bad, Luke." I reluctantly smile, watching his expression gain even more concern. "A bullet wound isn't going to kill me, I'll make sure of that."

Luke slowly nods looking away from me and over to Nick.

"What about Rebecca?" Bonnie asks, walking into the gift shop with puffy eyes. She looks like she was sleeping and her hair was slightly unkept.

Rebecca shakes her head, waving her hand up in refusal. "I'll be fine, we should get on the road. Find a safer place for my little man." She smiles, looking down at the infant and tapping onto his nose.

"Alright... Time to get this injury cleaned and bandaged."

* * *

"It's gonna hurt, darlin'." Bonnie assures, crouching down onto the floor with the bottle of peroxide. It was haunting, but I swallow away the fear.

I nod, biting on my bottom lip. "I know... Just do it quick." I insist, holding a breath while looking down at the wound. Bonnie had a bandage next to her legs, along with the peroxide bottle cap. My jeans were down to my ankles yet again and Clementine was looking at me weirdly. "Why are you looking at me like that?" I ask, squinting my eyes at the girl.

"I had to do that in the shed when you guys locked me up in there... It's gonna suck." She grins.

Clementine was one strong girl, stitching up her own arm and having to put peroxide on it? I remember when Claire had a small flesh wound when she was nine years old. I had to put peroxide on it and she screamed so loud, the neighbors called the police... Heh, what I'd do just to get a phone call nowadays.

"Hey, I didn't want to put you in there. It was Carlos who- AARRRGGHHH!" I yelp, cutting myself off mid-sentence. Bonnie had fumbled the bottle and it poured onto my leg, a little more was needed. "Shit, shit, shit!" I wince as the pain was starting to die down.

"Oh my god." Bonnie whispers in shock after holding the bottle straight. "I am so sorry, darlin'. I didn't mean to do that!"

"No, no... It's okay." I painfully smile, using the cloth Bonnie had brought over to wipe the dripping peroxide off my leg. "I'm fine..." I slightly pant.

A voice starts to call out from the gift shop, making us three turn our heads. "Everythin' okay in there?" It sounds like Luke.

"Yeah, It's uh... All good." I shout back, turning my head to Bonnie who starts to unwrap the bandage. "It's gotta be tight, doesn't it?" I ask, remembering the pain that I went through in the trailer while Luke was doing the same thing. My eye quickly turns to the gate, where I see a slowly approaching Sarah come and sit next to Clementine.

Bonnie nods. "Yeah, but not too tight. Don't want ya leg turnin' purple." She smiles, slowly starting to wrap the bandage around my leg. In all honesty, it didn't hurt as bad as it did in the trailer. Then again, Luke was doing it roughly. I guess he was losing his mind as much as I am, but I think I'm back in my normality at least... You know, besides almost being raped.

"Does it hurt?" Sarah asks, bringing over the same packet of peanuts that I teared open before. Luke probably made her bring it over to me. Putting it into my hand, she tucks her arms back into her lap and stares at my leg like she was intrigued.

I nod, pouring some of the peanuts into my hand and eating them. "A little bit."

"Alright, we're all done." Bonnie smiles, standing up from her crouching position. Her southern drawl was kind of soothing, I really did like those type of accents, especially me being a 'city-girl' and all. Probably explains why I love it when Luke talks, at least when he's not shouting at me.

"Thanks." I thank her, pulling my jeans up gently and standing up from the ground. I walked around the extension for a minute or so before coming to a conclusion. "Welp, I can walk on it. That's a good sign." I smile.

"Great, I'll see you inside." Bonnie says, pulling Clementine along and leaving Sarah with me.

Sarah looks over to me with those same beedy eyes. I wonder how she was going?

"Hey, Sarah." I smile, walking up to her as she gives me a reluctant wave. "You been okay?" I ask. She looks away from me with her hands tucked together. "Hey... I know it's hard. I can't imagine what you're going through right now, but I want you to know that we're all here for you." I assure her, trying to give her the sweetest smile.

Sarah looks up at me with a frown on her face, teetering on her toes. "I'm just really sad... I miss my dad, he protected me." She trembles as she speaks, tears welling in the corner of her eyes.

"Sarah, we'll protect you. And if we can't, well..." I stop, thinking for a moment. "...I'm gonna show you how to protect yourself."

Sarah's eyes widen as she swallows away the shock. "L-Like running? I can already do that..."

"No," I shake my head. "Remember back in the cabin when Clementine and I showed you how to use that gun?"

Sarah's eyes squint a little and she nods her head. "Yeah... I remember." She mumbles.

"This time," I start, quickly running over to the rack and pulling my gun out of it, making my way back to Sarah. "This time, you're actually going to pull the trigger."

Sarah's eyes widen in enjoyment and she smiles. "Really?" She gasps, taking the gun out of my hands. "My dad would never let me use one of these..." Sarah spoke, but then she was silent for a moment. "I'm not gonna have to use it on a person... am I?" She asks, looking up at me while the gun lays bluntly in her hands.

I sigh, looking away from her as I rub my shoulder. "Sarah..." I start, kneeling down to her level and placing my hands on her shoulders. "There's gonna be a time where horrible people are trying to do horrible things... If a person is hurting you or someone in the group, you need to stop them. You need to protect the ones you love, just as they'd do you." I assure her, making sure she understands.

"But... wouldn't I be just like them if I shot them?" She asks, holding the gun up. "Shooting people isn't right, Kirsten."

"I know, I know." I nod standing back up to my original height. "Shooting is bad no matter what... But, if it's for defense for yourself or someone you love, you need to do it."

"What about walkers?"

"Walkers aren't people... They're monsters. All walkers are monsters, and you can't let them get you." I assure, while she gives me a small nod.

"But..." She mumbles, "I'm scared."

I sigh, looking down to the ground as I lean onto one side of me. "Don't be afraid, Sarah. You can run faster than them, you can think more than them, you're smarter than them. You can do this." I nod, letting a determined smile across my face.

Sarah swallowed, giving off a little smile as she does. "Okay."

* * *

"That's right, Sarah. Remember to hold a breath." Clementine reassures her, pulling Sarah's elbows down. "And don't lock your elbows, it'll hurt."

"Okay." Sarah says through an exhale, keeping the gun steady at the empty chilli can. She pulled the trigger and a bullet flew straight into it, flinging it backwards. "Ouch!" Sarah yelps, dropping the gun and holding onto her wrists. "My hands hurt..."

I let out a small laugh before replying to the girl. "Heh, yeah. You'll get used to it, though. What about your ears?"

"They're ringing." She says uncomfortably. "I don't like doing this."

"You need to, Sarah. If you want to survive, you need to learn. You even got it on the first shot, that was really good." Clementine instructs, picking up the gun and handing it to Sarah. I walked over to the trash can that was in the gift shop and started searching for another can.

"How she doing?" Nick asks in concern. He's been like this for a while now...

I nod, still fishing through the trash can. "First shot and she got it. Pretty good, huh?" I grin, finally pulling out an empty can.

Nick shrugs, scratching the back of his head. "Yeah, I guess..."

I squint my eyes at him, stepping closer to the man. "Nick..." I mumble, "Why are you acting weird?"

"I'm not acting weird."

I roll my eyes at him and fold my arms. "You obviously are. Tell me, what's wrong?" I ask.

Nick sighs, looking at me with sadness. "You know... It's just... If I went outside with you, that wouldn't of happened... You would have been okay and that guy-"

"I'm okay, now." I cut him off, raising my eyebrows at him. "None of that was your fault, you can't go blaming yourself for things you can't control."

"But I could have done something..."

I shake my head. "No, you couldn't have. Stop blaming yourself, okay? It's not good. It's bad, you're going to make your life harder." I plead.

Nick stands there silently looking at me with a stressed out expression. "...I'm sorry." He mumbles.

"Don't be." I reply, giving him a little smile. He smirks back, scratching the back of his head again. "I gotta go... uh, get this to the girls." I awkwardly say before walking out of the gift shop.

I step back into the extention to see Clementine telling Sarah not to lock her elbows, pulling them down every time she tries to aim.

"Keep them down, Sarah. It's not that hard." Clementine was starting to get frustrated a little, folding her arms at the taller girl who kept slightly fumbling the gun.

"I'm sorry, I'm getting nervous." Sarah apologizes, aiming the gun down to the ground with a pout of her bottom lip.

I position the empty can onto the crate that we brought in, then turn myself back to the two girls. "It's alright, Sarah. You'll get there." I smile, walking up to them both. "I mean, you got the can on the first shot." I encourage her, feeling proud once she gives me a smile in return. "Your father would be proud of you, Sarah." I gleam, watching her slouch her head down a little, but still containing a trace of that smile.

"Thanks." She mumbles, aiming the Glock 17 at the empty can of beans and closing one of her eyes, looking through the top of the gun. She didn't lock her elbows this time, and pulled the trigger. The bullet went straight through the can and it toppled over, Sarah lowered the gun and started to rub her wrists. "It doesn't hurt that much this time."

"Like I said, you'll get used to it." I smirk, rubbing her shoulder in reward.

"Girls," A voice called out from the deck. I shift my head over to the noise to see Mike popping his head out. "It's time to go."

* * *

_**A/N: Yes, I saw Episode 5. Yes, I cried when **** died. uuuuUUUGHGHHG. Anyway, hope you enjoyed the chapter. Not that eventful, though. A review is much appreciated, the next chapter will be much better!**_

_**-Inf.**_


	35. Bullet For A Bullet

_**A/N: Hey! We're nearly at 100 reviews! That is amazing beyond belief. Thank you all for the Favourites, Follows and reviews. I can't believe that a character, a backstory and an idea that I created would be loved so much!**_

_**Hope you enjoy this chapter, we wrap up Episode 4 and start at Episode 5!**_

_***SPOILER WARNING: IF YOU HAVEN'T PLAYED/WATCHED EPISODE 5, STAY THE HELL AWAY FROM THIS CHAPTER UNTIL YOU DO. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED***_

_**Also, I am really sorry that it's taken a while to update. I've been rather busy, but you'll like this chapter... hopefully... Anyway, enjoy!**_

* * *

"J-Jesus... It's freezing." I stutter, softly limping across the snow with my arms folded. I was shivering, desperately trying to keep my arms covered for warmth.

"Tell me about it." Nick replies, shivering even more then I was.

Luke concernly looks over to me, cradling into the AK-47 that Bonnie had let him use. His sleeves were down, yet he was still shivering like crazy.

Bonnie halts, catching Rebecca as she falls to the fall snow. Sarah jumps a little in concern, her eyes widening at Rebecca. "You alright?" Bonnie asks, trying to help Rebecca off of the ground.

"She's exhausted." Luke coldly replies. "We all are." He spins his head over to Kenny, almost glaring at him.

Rebecca finally stands up. "I can keep going..." She mumbles, starting to take a few steps forward.

I walk up to Rebecca, wrapping my arm around her waist and supporting her. The group starts to walk again as they all huddle up in themselves, grasping for warmth.

"We shoulda left right away, instead of waitin' around." Kenny insists, glaring at Luke as he does so. "We coulda found more food and been someplace warm days ago."

"We did the right thing." Luke testifies, returning the glare back at Kenny. "She was in no condition to move."

"She's worse now!" Kenny slowly retorts, looking back at Luke as they play a game of 'Glare at the other guy'. They had been bickering the whole time, and it was making everyone stressed out.

"We could still turn back." Luke suggested.

"That's not an option." Kenny quickly countered, tucking his arms more into himself. "Everybody hang in there, we gotta keep movin' if we're gonna make it to that town before nightfall." Kenny assured, so determined about it.

"You don't even listen to anyone else. You just go on barkin' orders!" Luke shouted, tensing up at Kenny's angered face. "You gotta lighten up, okay? You're pushing 'em too hard."

"Can both of you shut the hell up?" I snapped, glaring at both of them. "You're acting like children and you're gonna attract walkers!" I spat out, still limping on my leg.

"It's not my fault that your boyfriend here-"

Luke cuts off Kenny, sneering at him as he does. "Hey, don't you go startin' on her now-"

"Shut up!" I sneered, blocking my ears with my hands. "Shut up, shut up, shut up!" I hissed, glaring at the both of them as they jumped back a little. "Can you both just quit it? Just for one day?!" I pleaded, lowering my hands holding onto my arms again.

"Arguing isn't helping." Clementine stuttered, shivering as she walked.

Luke walked in silence before peering over his shoulder to Clementine. "Yeah, I guess... But we were still right to wait as long as we did." He shifted his head over to me, "Despite the loss of sanity," He smirks, to which I return it by flipping him off. "But remember, you agreed with me on that." He turned back to Clementine, continuing the conversation.

Rebecca started to sway, moaning and groaning as she fell to the ground, causing the baby to start sulking.

"Oh!" Bonnie gasped, trying to soften the blow of Rebecca's falling.

Mike walked past me and over to a tyre which he pointed at. "Over here, there's a place to sit." He informed Bonnie, who helped Rebecca off the ground and over to the tyre.

"Rebecca, let me take the baby." Kenny insisted, walking over to her as she slumped down into the tyre.

"He's okay, I've got him." She declined, cradling the baby as he stopped crying.

Kenny shook his head. "No, you rest for a minute. I'll watch him." He kindly insisted.

"Back off, Kenny." Luke interfered, "She said she doesn't want you to take the baby. Don't be weird about it, okay?" He japed.

Nick looked over at Luke, confused. "Luke, relax."

"Luke, what the hell?" I asked confusedly. "He's just helping her out, what's so bad about that?" I asked again, to which he glared over at me.

"I ain't bein' weird about it." Kenny countered.

Luke nods his head. "Yeah, you kind of have been."

I grew upset, walking in between the both of them and glaring at them. "I swear to god, if any of you bicker again, I will kick you both on the balls. Do you understand me?!" They both hesitantly looked at me before looking at each other. "And I mean that." I threatened, watching their eyes widen as they stepped back a little.

"I was just tryin' to help." Kenny softly said, looking over to Luke and I.

Luke opened his mouth to talk but I immediately stopped him, covering his mouth with my hand. "And we're grateful for that, aren't we Lu-"

"Hello!" A voice called out, cutting me off and making my snap my head towards a figure that limped over to our group.

Mike confusedly asked, "What is this?"

Clementine walked forward a little, squinting into the foggy distance, her eyes then widened as the boy started to speak another language. "Arvo?"

"Who?" I asked.

"Jane and I met him on the observation deck. Before everyone else came." Clementine informed us, still looking warily at the boy named Arvo.

Luke turned to Clementine, "That's the guy?" He concernly asked.

"You know this sonuvabitch? What's he want?" Kenny asked, turning around to Clementine as she shrugged.

"He doesn't look like much." Bonnie remarked, squinting as the boy got closer.

Clementine turned towards Kenny and looked up at him. "He has a sick sister. They might be in trouble."

"Hmph," Luke shrugged, walking closer to the boy after continuing his words. "Alright."

As the boy got closer, I could finally make out his features. He had short brown hair, and soft blue eyes behind a pair of black rimmed glasses. He was wearing a white and purple jacket that was stained with splatters of blood and dirt. He wore a pair of jeans and had a leg-brace on his right leg. It was rusty and squeaked when walked.

I placed my hand on my gun that was in the back of my pants, and another on my knife that sat normally in it's holster.

"Hello. Your name is Clementine, yes?" The boy asked, his tone of voice in an accent that sounded... Russian.

I look down at Clementine and mumble. "Clem, say something..."

"Hi, Arvo..." She reluctantly smiled, waving her hand ever so slightly.

"These are your friends?" He asked, looking around the group and eying us one by one. Clementine looked up at me hesitantly before nodding. "I am hoping you can help me now. Not like before... All of you can help." He insisted, giving off a hesitant smile.

"What do you mean 'not like before'?" I warily asked, looking down at Clementine in confusion. Tightening the grip on my gun and knife.

Clementine shakes her head and looks back up at Arvo. "How's your sister doing?" She hesitantly asked, fiddling with her fingers nervously. What was she being so weird about?

"Sister? Not so good." He shook his head while looking around at the group. "I need a... things for- Bandages! I need bandages." He cut himself off, pointing a finger up into the air once he remembered.

"Are you... hurt?" Bonnie asked, eying Arvo up and down.

Arvo looked down to the ground in guilt before mumbling. "No..."

Abruptedly, rustling came out from the bushes. Two men appeared and started to speak another language, what I assumed was Russian. I felt my stomach drop and looked at Luke panically.

"Luke..." I mumbled, looking around before seeing a woman who looked like Arvo's sister appear from the trees and walk up to Arvo.

The Russian's started to laugh after Arvo replied to his sister in the same language.

"What the hell is so funny?" I angrily asked, glaring at Arvo.

"I told them Clementine is the one who robbed me. They think it's funny that she's just a little girl." He smirks, looking directly at me. "And they want you and your friends to put down the guns so we can take your things."

"Woah, woah... Hang on now." Luke tried to calm the situation down, or at least put it to a halt.

I look down at Clementine and glare at her. "You robbed him?!"

"No!" She spat back. "It wasn't me, it was Jane who took his stuff!" She pleaded, putting her hands up in surrender.

"Hmm, 'Jane'?" Arvo asked, looking around the group. "Where is the other woman?" He asked again.

"She left our group... She could be close by." I inform him.

Luke turned around and glared at me. "The hell'd you say that for?" He mouthed the words.

"No, you're lying! It's a trap, I know it!" He almost shouted, looking around frantically for Jane. What the hell is with this kid?!

"We're not lying, she left our group!" I retorted, pointing to the forest beside us.

The men started to step closer towards us, making us back inwards a little. We pulled out our guns and started to take aim. Bonnie had Arvo's sister, Luke had Arvo, Kenny and Nick had the bald guy with the tattoo's on his head, and Mike had the guy in the green jacket.

Sarah and Clementine looked around frantically, Clementine then taking out her gun and holding it tightly. Sarah mimicked Clementine hesitantly, looking down at the gun we had found for her before slightly holding it up. I looked around to see if there was anyone I could take aim at, but there wasn't. Instead, I took the aim at anyone who looked like they needed it.

I felt Luke's hand grab onto my shoulder and pull me behind him. "You stay close, okay? Take your aim, but always stay behind me."

"This can be easy for you..." Arvo persisted the conversation. The bald man started to speak to Arvo in Russian before he turned back to us. "All of you, just put your guns down. This will be fine."

"Fine my ass!" Kenny argued.

"We have a baby!" Clementine shouted, alerting everyone to look over to Rebecca's pale body as she holds her infant loosely.

Arvo's eyes widened as he looked over at the baby. "You have a baby?" He asked, before continuing to speak in Russian to the bald man.

Before I knew it, everyone was making threats to each other. Bickering was going on and on, and everyone started to yell. The baby had been crying for minutes now, so I turned around to see if he was okay, but received the shock of my life. Rebecca had unusually slumped her head down, her eyes were closed and she wasn't moving.

I motioned for Clementine who looked up at me in horror. "Clem... Get the baby..." I whispered, before stopping her in her tracks when Rebecca's eyes shot open. They were a milky white and she started to snarl, lifting her head up at sneering at Clementine and I. "The baby! Clem, the baby!" I yelled, lifting my arms up and aiming for Rebecca's head. Before I could pull the trigger, a bullet skimmed the air and went straight between the eyes of Rebecca.

Clementine looked at me wide eyed before looking down at the gun in her hands. "That wasn't me..."

We both turned around to see a tear filled Sarah, holding her gun up in the air as she sobbed.

"No!" Luke shouted before gunshots were unleashing everywhere.

Sarah ran behind the cobblestone wall and Clementine jumped to the ground. I looked up at anyone unfamiliar and started to shoot, hitting Arvo's sister in the chest. I hesitated to pull the trigger again for a moment, freezing up, I paused as she fell to the ground. I just killed that woman...

"Shit, I'm hit! I'm hit!" Mike shouted, clutching onto his arm in pain.

Before I knew it, I stumbled around and a striking pain seared through out my previous gunshot wound. I looked down at my leg to see I was hit, exactly where I was hit by one of Carver's guards.

"Kirsten!" Luke shouted in worry from behind the cobblestone wall.

"Are you fucking serious?!" I screeched in agony, picking up my gun that I dropped and taking shots at the bald man who I assumed shot me, one of my bullets piercing his leg. I look around to see Clementine shouting at me.

"Kirsten, the baby!" She pointed, crawling towards the baby who had rolled off of Rebecca and onto the snow covered ground.

I got onto the ground and stopped Clementine by grabbing her foot. "Clem, get to Luke and Sarah, I'll get him!" I ordered. She nodded in agreement and quickly ran to Luke.

I scooted along the snow covered ground, shivering and bleeding at the same time. A bullet almost hit my head before I ducked, burying my face into the cold snow.

"Kirsten!" Luke shouted out in fear, "What the hell are you doing?! Get behind cover!" He demanded. I don't think Luke knew that the baby was there.

"I need to get the baby!" I shouted in reply, standing up and limping swiftly to the baby. I picked him up and ran over to the cobblestone wall, propping myself up against it.

"Holy shit, I didn't even see him out there!" Luke gasped, "Are you okay?!"

I handed the baby over to Sarah who choked back her tears. "You keep him with you and you keep your head down low, okay?" I informed her. She nodded vigorously and lowered her head. I turn back to Luke and nod my head. "I got shot again, Luke. I'm totally okay!" I sarcastically shout over the gunshots, to which he glared at me in response.

I peek my head over the wall for a brief moment and look around. Kenny is behind the tree, Arvo is trying to revive his sister, Nick, Bonnie and Mike and behind another tree and on of the two Russian's are hiding behind the boulder while the other is on the ground.

"We gotta do somethin' y'all, we're pinned down here!" Luke informs the group, shouting desperately over the gunshots. "We can't just... sit here, and let that guy take potshots at us 'til he runs outta ammo!"

"What are you talking about? That's as good a plan as any!" I shout back, picking up my gun and peeking over the wall. Taking a few shots before getting back down.

"So quite talking about it and do it!" Clementine retorted back to Luke.

"Alright, alright!" He stammered a little.

"It doesn't have to get any worse than it already is! Just go!" Kenny tried to regain the composure of the situation, but the man started to speak Russian again. "English, motherfucker!" Kenny shouted.

The man stood up and aimed his gun. "I kill everyone of you!" He threatened in his accent, making my hold my gun up and aim at his head. The man started to shoot at Kenny, but completely missed.

Nick took the time to distract the bald man and run his way over towards us. Panting, he propped himself up against the wall and held onto his gun. "What's the plan here, Luke?"

"If I can get over to that side of the wall, I could maybe get an angle on this guy." Luke suggested.

Nick shook his head in disagreement. "Let me do it, that asshole almost got me!" He angrily insisted.

"Are you sure, Nick? What if you get hurt?" I worried, peeking over the wall for a brief moment to have a bullet almost hit me in the head. Again. "Dude, what the fuck?!" I lowered my head, looking over to Luke who glared at me.

"Don't do that again!" Luke shouted, to which I pouted in response.

"Yes, dad." I teased, to which he glared at me harder. "I'm kidding!"

"Clem, I'm gonna need a distraction." Nick informs her. "When I say go, you fire some shots at that guy, and I'll go."

"Okay, just be careful." Clementine insists. Once Nick said go, Clementine looked over the wall and started to shoot at the man in the green jacket.

Nick crouched down and started to walk over to the wall, but collapsed onto the floor when he was shot in the leg. "Ahh! Fuck!" He swore, trying to scoot back to the wall. The bald man lifted up his shot gun and aimed it at Nick who desperately tried to get behind the wall.

I looked over the wall and aimed my gun at him, squeezing the trigger before the bullet went straight into the side of his head.

Luke pulled Nick closer to the wall and finally got him behind it. "Jesus Christ, Nick! Are you okay?!" He panicked.

"I'm fine, I'm fine!" He groaned, holding onto his leg in pain.

Kenny's voice started to shout loudly, so I looked over the wall to see him holding onto a struggling Arvo that tries to break free of Kenny's grasp. "You get out here or I put a bullet in this kid's head!" Kenny threatened.

Clementine peeked over the wall and shouted over to Kenny. "Let him go, Kenny!"

"No, I'm ending this!" He argued. "Get out here, right fuckin' now!" Kenny demanded, struggling to keep Arvo in his arms.

As Kenny continued to make threats, snarling and gurgles came from behind the wall. Clementine looked around the side to see Arvo's sister had reanimated. Shit...

"Shoot her, Clem!" I ordered. Clementine pulled out her gun and shot her in between the eyes.

"No!" Arvo shouted, tears were flowing down his cheeks as he watched his sister's lifeless body limp down onto the ground. He jumped out of Kenny's grasp and ran to his sister. "Natasha! Natasha!" He pleaded, shaking her vigorously.

The man got up from the boulder and started to shoot at Kenny. Kenny jumped onto the ground and put his hands over his head before looking up at the man who walked further away from the boulder, speaking in Russian as he aimed towards Kenny's head. The man's shouting was cut off, he started to gurgle and blood drooled out of his mouth.

"What the..." I trailed off, before the man collapsed onto the ground and Jane had appeared behind him. "...Jane?" She had dug her knife into his neck, but backed away slowly with wide eyes.

The man gurgled even louder, wailing his arms at Jane before Kenny walked straight up to him and aimed his gun at his head.

**_BANG!_**


	36. Let's Be Alone, Together

"It's safe to come out."

Bonnie walked up to Sarah's shaking figure and grabbed the baby from her. "Here, I've got him."

Clementine looked up at me before motioning me to follow her suit up to Jane. Once we get there, we stare down at the man that threatened to kill us all.

"I'm still mad at you for leaving." Clementine remarked, glaring up at Jane through her eyelashes.

Jane nodded. "Yeah... I figured." She sorrowfully said, her eyes glued to the corpse in front of her. "I didn't know this man... I've never killed someone that didn't wrong me in some way... That didn't deserve it."

"But you did try." I mumbled, looking away from her to not catch her glare. I was talking about Sarah and the whole deck thing.

"Tried to pretend he was a walker... but... it's different." She trailed off, crossing her arms in guilt.

Clementine shrugged. "I'm sorry you had to... It's a hard thing to do." She apologized.

"Why do I get the feeling you know all about it?" Jane asked her, looking down at her.

Clementine glanced down, making me think that she's remembering Lee. She shook her head and continued to glare at Jane. "You can still leave, you know. There's nothing holding you back here."

"I sorta wish that was true." Jane replied, glancing over to the group, more specifically, Luke.

I squinted at her before looking down. Something was telling me that she wasn't here for the hell of it. Our group supposedly dragged her down, she didn't believe in safety in numbers. She was capable of doing things on her own without anyone getting her killed, she was a free woman. But she came back, and I was skeptical as of why.

"Let's go." Jane motioned towards the group, Clementine and I following her suit, limping towards everyone.

The group was crowded around the corpse of Rebecca, a bullet wound sitting coldly between her eyes. It made me shutter, let alone, break down a little inside. The baby has no father, no mother, if he survives for a while, what do we tell him when he's older?

"How did this happen?" Mike asked, holding onto his shoulder in pain.

"She turned... Just like that." Luke said, looking down to the snow covered ground in sadness.

I choked up a little, letting out a big exhale while wiping my eyes. It was so sad to see the woman who gave me advice, cared about me and basically mothered me in a way, die right before my eyes.

"Don't go blaming yourself, Kirsten. You did what you had to... to protect the baby." Bonnie insisted, to which I looked up at her confused.

"I didn't shoot her..." I unwillingly answered, "It was Sarah..."

The group looked around, trying to see where the teenager had fled to. She didn't run away, I know that for a fact. I turned on my heels and limped up to the cobblestone wall.

Sarah sat there silently before looking up at me. "I didn't want to do it..." She mumbled, looking down at her knees. I lent out my hand and she grabbed it, pulling herself up, she followed me in the suit to walk over to the group.

"She just... lost too much blood." Luke speculated.

"Maybe we could of done something..." Nick mumbled, leaning onto Luke for support of his leg. "We could have done more..."

Mike shook his head. "She was just... too far gone."

"We can't beat ourselves up over it, there was nothing we could do. We didn't have the right supplies." I insisted, looking up at the group.

"She would've been a good mom..." Clementine complimented, looking down at Rebecca.

"Yeah..." Bonnie nodded. "Yeah, she would have." She sighed. "Don't worry, Becca. We'll take good care of your boy... you rest easy."

Kenny started to growl while clenching up his fists. He spun around on his heels and stormed up to Arvo who sat on the ground, sulking over his sister's corpse. "You piece of shit!" He shouted, grabbing Arvo's collar of his shirt and pulling him up. Arvo grunted as Kenny lifted up his fist and hit him in the head.

"Hey, Hey!" Bonnie alerted, giving the baby to Clementine.

Mike and I ran (well, the best I could run) up to Kenny and pulled him away from Arvo.

"Stop!" Mike shouted, pushing Kenny away from Arvo.

"Get off me!" Kenny demanded, pulling away from Mike.

Nick growled at Kenny, doing the best he could with a shot leg. "Kenny, knock that shit off!"

"Guys, guys! Come on!" Luke tried to break it up.

Sarah hesitated a little before faintly shouting. "Kenny, it's not nice!"

"Kenny, what the hell do you think you're doing?!" I hissed, standing in the way of Kenny as he brought out his gun. "Put that away!"

"Get out of the way!" Kenny demanded, as Arvo whimpered behind us.

"Woah! What are you doing?!" Mike asked in panic.

Kenny narrowed his eyes on Arvo. "The same thing this asshole tried to do to us!"

"It doesn't have to go down like that!"

"Kenny, put it away! He's just a kid, he can't do anything now!" I growled.

"He wasn't the one shooting at us! That guy's dead." Clementine shouted.

"Just cause he don't have a gun doesn't mean he wouldn't have!" Kenny argued, soon to be shut down by Clementine.

"Well, he didn't. So, leave him alone!" She shouted back at him.

Arvo whimpered, looking up at us with his big soft eyes. "There is house, food... please. Please, I can take you."

"Bullshit!"

"No, no! Is true! We have place, not far. Food." He insisted, his accent a little hard to understand, but manageable.

Luke turned back around to Kenny. "See? He wants to help."

"Oh, don't be stupid. He just wants to save his skin. Why the hell would he help us? Huh?" Kenny doubted, still holding his aim at the boy's head.

"I... I no want to see more people dead..." Arvo sobbed, tears were staining his cheeks and his glasses were fogging up.

"Then close your eye's and I'll make it quick." Kenny growled.

"Kenny!" I yelled, catching his attention. "Put the gun down! Now! You're not shooting him, so knock it off already!"

"No!"

"Kenny, back off!" Mike demanded.

"If he's telling the truth, it could save all of us!" Bonnie pleaded, rocking her arms slightly for the baby to stop crying.

"We need the food. None of this will all matter if we starve to death, Kenny." Clementine made a point. Fighting over this was useless, and so was killing Arvo. Without him, we won't be able to last.

"It's worth the risk to check this place out." Jane insisted, "Trust him, don't trust him. It doesn't matter. We should go anyway. We just need to be careful. It can't be far from here."

"You stay out of this!" Kenny demanded, turning around to Jane. "You're the reason why these fuckers came after us in the first place!"

"Don't try to pin this on me." Jane argued, narrowing her eyes at Kenny.

I nodded my head. "It doesn't matter if you want this pinned on you or not. You stole from them, and they came after _us_. But, you're still right..." I turned around to Kenny and tried to negotiate with him. "The least this kid can do is give us a roof over our head and food in our stomach's."

"Think about the baby, Kenny." Bonnie pleaded, looking down at the infant that stared up at Clementine. "If there are supplies, we need 'em. We ain't gonna last that much longer without food."

"Unless someone's got a better plan?" Jane asked, looking around the group.

Kenny sighed, finally lowering the gun and putting in the back of his pants. "We got somethin' to tie with shitbird up?"

"Yeah..." Bonnie sighed through a nod. "I've got somethin'."

As Bonnie tied up Arvo's hands with a length of rope, he insisted on leading the way. "Follow me, I take you."

"Just gimmie a reason." Kenny bellowed as he walked past Arvo.

"Yeah, man. He get's it." Luke turned to Kenny, narrowing his eyes at him.

* * *

We had been walking for an hour, - even though Nick and I were limping - until Jane, Clementine and I started to engage in discussion. Nick was being helped by Luke to walk while Mike and Bonnie stood next to each other. Sarah kept close to Bonnie, and Kenny had his gun aimed at Arvo's back while Arvo led the way.

"Look... I know you're probably pissed about me leaving... When I heard the gunshots, I... I knew it was a mistake." Jane pouted a little, looking between Clementine and I. "If it helps, the thing I'd normally do is walk away for good... but I didn't."

"I'm not pissed about you leaving," I looked at her with a raised eyebrow. Jane looked up at me in surprise. "I'm pissed about you coming back." I sneered, Jane's expression sunk.

"Hey, I saved your asses." She argued, folding her arms. Jane sighed. "I'd expect that from you, but from her?"

Clementine didn't take her eyes off the direction she was walking in. "So? You want a cookie? You want a cookie for doing the right thing?" She rudely remarked, earning a smirk from me as I looked over to Jane.

Jane shrugged. "If you have one, I'll take it." Clementine wasn't amused, she just kept her head forward. "What I'm saying is, I'm here to make this work. If I get a cookie for that, then awesome." She sighed, looking down to the ground. "All I can do is... promise you guys that I won't abandon yous again. Which, to be fair, I've never done before... Even though I probably should have... a few times now."

"Full marks for loyalty, Jane." I sarcastically said. "But... Thanks. For saving us."

Jane nodded, keeping her eyes straight forward.

* * *

I kept my head down most of the time we walked, besides the occasional glance at Luke to see if he was going okay while he helped Nick. I was worried for him, a bullet in his leg and he was still going. Nick could be a strong person when he wanted to, that's for sure. But mentally?

He was breaking inside. Pete, Barbara, Carlos, Alvin, Rebecca... The people he loved and called family were gone. Luke, Sarah and I were the only ones he had left. God forbid anything worse happens to him, but what can you do? A world like this? Something's bound to happen.

"How's that leg doing?" Luke asked, peering over his shoulder and snapping me out of my thoughts.

I shook my head, letting out a sigh of pain. "Not that great." I looked up at Luke. "I can't feel it, and it hurts like hell. It feels like it's double the pain..." I informed him, giving a little groan.

"Alright." Luke nodded his head and turned back around to Kenny. "Ken, we've gotta hold up for a second. Let the group rest." He insisted, helping Nick over to a nearby fallen tree and sitting him down. Nick let out a sigh of relief that he could finally rest.

"Alright, wait there." Kenny instructed Arvo before turning back around to the group. We were all staring at Arvo as he continued to slowly walk, ignoring Kenny's demands. "Hey, what'd I say?" Kenny stormed up to the teenaged and grabbed him by the back of the neck, throwing him down to the cold ground. "When I tell you somethin' you fuckin' listen, you understand?" He violently demanded, growling at the boy.

"Kenny, come on! There's no need for that." Mike insisted, looking at Kenny with an angered glare.

"_He's_ gettin' what he deserves." Kenny retorted.

"_He's _a person worthy of basic treatment. Not being pushed around like a rag doll." I said, as Luke walked up to me and wrapped my arm around his shoulder.

"_He_ doesn't want you guys to fight. And neither do I, so just cut it out already." Clementine hushed everyone down, sending glares to us left, right, and center.

Luke helped me over to the log where Nick sat at and removed himself from my arm, stepping back a little and wiping his forehead.

"You're tired out from lifting me a few meters to a log?" I chuckled, looking up at Luke with a raised eyebrow. "Last time I checked, I didn't weigh as much as Nick. Then again, that was two years ago." I smiled.

Luke rolled his eyes as Nick mimicked him. "Yeah, but that's the thing. I had to carry Nick." He jerked his thumb over to Nick with a smirk.

"I told you I could walk, you didn't let me." Nick looked up at Luke with a playful glare.

"Sure, sure." Luke japed.

"I'm gonna have a word with Kenny." Mike insisted, alerting Bonnie and Luke.

Bonnie nodded. "Yeah, yeah. go on and talk to him, I've got Clem if I need anything. Just... take the baby." Bonnie waddled over to Mike and handed the little boy into his hands.

Mike widened his eyes, almost like he didn't know what to do with him. "Uh... okay..." And with that, Mike went up to Kenny.

Bonnie bent down to the ground where Nick sat and whispered. "What is it with you guys?" She asked.

"Huh?" Nick raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"Every man I've known is always try'na let each other know how tough they are. Put 'em in their place. Bunch'a dominant, alpha male horse shit." Bonnie swore, shaking her head at her own comment.

"You're so ballsy today, Bonnie. It's hilarious." I smiled, as she returned it with a smirk.

"I ain't like that." Luke said, looking down at Bonnie as she turned her head up to him.

"Don't lie, Luke." I snickered, as Nick joined me in the laugh.

"Yeah, don't you remember back in eighth-grade when that jock was hitting on that girl you liked and you-"

"Shut up, Nick." Luke ordered, trying to hold back his laughter of embarrassment. "I was fourteen, what'dya think I'd do?"

Clementine looked up at us with narrowed eyes. "They're not all like that. There are good men too. My friend, Lee. He was a good man."

"Yeah," I sadly nodded, looking down to the ground. "Yeah, he was."

"Well, I wish I had had the chance to meet him then." Luke smiled at the girl, then back up at me.

"Lee would've loved you." I smiled back at him.

Nick shook his head. "I hate to ruin the moment, but my leg is starting to burn like hell..." He winced, groaning a little at the pain.

Bonnie stood up and handed Luke new bandages and a bottle of peroxide. "Here, take this into the forest and go clean ya girls leg, she's bleeding out like a waterfall." She insisted, before crouching back down into her original position. "I'll take care of Nick, we'll meet y'all back here. Stay close to us, though. Don't want you wanderin' too far."

"We can't do it here?" Luke asked.

"I'm not pulling down my pants in front of everyone, moron." I looked up at Luke in annoyance.

"Good point."

* * *

"You know, you don't have to carry me like a bride." I chucked, but soon stopped and groaned when the pain in my leg grew stronger. "Shit..."

"I ain't gonna let you walk much further on that leg before gettin' it all bandaged properly." Luke insisted, stopping by a nearby tree and placing me down on the ground.

"Wow, you're such a gentleman." I sarcastically laughed.

Luke rolled his eyes with a smile as his cheeks flushed a little red. He crouched down and placed the supplies on the ground, giving me a concerned look as I looked up at him.

"I need to ask you somethin'..." Luke lightly beckoned for me to scoot a little closer. I nodded my head and he continued, "Did that guy... do anythin' to ya?"

As soon as Luke said that, the horrible thoughts started to flood my mind. "No, but bringing it up isn't making me feel better about it... I just want to forget all of that. Pretend like it never happened."

"Alright, that's your call. I'm totally fine with that. I wouldn't want you feeling terrible over it, anyway." Luke nodded before silence hit. "You gotta pull your, um... jeans down." Luke hesitated slightly, looking down at the bottle of peroxide.

I unbuttoned my pants and pulled them down, grabbing the bottle of peroxide out of his hands. "I'm gonna do this. Last time Bonnie did it, I had half the bottle spilled onto my leg." Luke nodded and let me. I twisted the bottle cap and threw it at Luke in a playful manner.

He placed the bottle cap on the floor and started to unwrap the blood soaked bandage that was there before. I winced at the pain, but got over it soon enough. "Okay..." I took deep breaths, shutting my eyes closed and dripping a little bit of the peroxide on the wound. My eyes shot open and I fumbled the bottle, mimicking Bonnie's exact moment last time, and it spilling all over my leg. Luke started to burst out in laughter as he held the bottle straight, taking it out of my hands.

I cupped my hand over my mouth and yelped into it, clenching my teeth in pain. "Mother fu-"

"Well, that parts done." Luke smiled, putting the bottle cap onto the bottle and setting it aside. He grabbed the new bandages and started to wrap it around my leg as I whimpered. "We're nearly done, quit your cryin'." He teased.

"I'm not crying, I'm just... That really fucking hurt." I swore, standing up from my sitting position as Luke asked me to. I pulled up my jeans and buttoned it up, leaning against the tree for support. "Why the hell does that keep happening?"

"What? The peroxide, or being shot in the same spot twice?" Luke teased, giving a smirk as he did. I rolled my eyes and painfully smiled. "Alright, alright. You get a hug for not being a wuss about it." Luke held out his arms.

"Just a hug?"

Luke wrapped his arms around my waist and hugged me tightly, making me stumble a little as he lifted me off my feet. He set me back down on the ground and put his arms on my shoulders, giving me a light kiss on the forehead.

I looked up at him with a smirk, repeating my words to him. "Just a hug?"

Luke smiled and bent down a little bit, placing his lips gently on mine. I stood on my toes and wrapped my arms around his neck, my fingers playing around in his soft, brown hair. I couldn't help but take tiny breaks from the kiss to smile, something I hadn't been doing a lot lately. But, it mostly happened when Luke and I were by ourselves. Then again, last time we were by ourselves we did a little more than just 'kissing'. I was soon snapped out of my thoughts when a voice called out from behind me.

"Get some, Luke!" We heard Nick's voice shout, then, a snicker of laughter from where the others stopped. Luke and I broke apart and he glared into the distance, more specifically, he glared at Nick.

"That asshole sometimes, I swear..."

I let out a little laugh before jumping back into Luke's arms. "Now carry me to my people, slave!" I mockingly joked, wincing at the pain of my leg thudding. Luke shook his head and chuckled, beginning to walk closer to the group.

"Do I really need to carry you?" Luke asked, looking down at me with a smirk.

"No, but I'm making you carry me. Because you love me."

* * *

_**A/N: Hope you liked the fluff, we haven't seen much of it since the whole observation thingy, plus, it's a longer chapter than usual. I really hope you enjoyed this chapter and there's something I'd like to address.**_

_**A lot of you seem to like this fanfiction, and i'm really grateful for that, so I've decided to reward you guys for nearly hitting 100 reviews. I've started another fanfiction! Sad to say, it doesn't involve Kirsten. It involves a 15 year old Clementine, surviving the zombie apocalypse with her 20 year old sister, Caitlin. It had about 3 chapters of of now, but I really hope you guys could check it out and see what you think of it! You can just go to my profile and look at the fanfiction's I've published, and you'll find it. It's called "It's Just Us". Trust me, you won't regret it! (Yes, it's OC(Caitlin)xLuke because you know I love me some Lukey.**_

_**Thanks for reading! **_

_**-Inf.**_


	37. Awful Vibes

_**A/N: Sorry for not posting in a while, I've been busy. Anyway, I have 2 week holidays, so that means frequent chapters! Yay! (maybe)**_

_**Enjoy the chapter!**_

* * *

"That's seriously not it, is it?"

The group looked dead eyed at the abandon power station that Arvo had led us to, sighing at it's dark and gloomy feel. They exchanged looks to each other before Kenny broke the ice.

"Is that it?" Kenny asks, jerking the gun into Arvo's back. The boy didn't budge, instead, he kept walking. "Hey, I'm talking to you!" Kenny nudged the gun into Arvo's back even further hardening his voice.

Arvo glanced up at Kenny, looking at him confusedly. "Wh-what? It? It what?" He asked, narrowing his eyes at Kenny.

"Is this the place you're taking us?" I questioned, looking up at Luke suspiciously on the fact of where Arvo was taking us. Luke quickly managed to sneak his eyes away from whatever he was looking at before he glanced down at me.

Jane rested a hand on her hip and sighed. "He doesn't speak much english."

I raised an eyebrow at the slightly taller woman. "He was speaking english almost fluently when his buddies were around." I scoffed.

Clementine patted the air with her hands, looking up at the taller boy who angrily narrowed his eyes at her. "Arvo, we're not trying to be mean to you, we just want to know if this is the place with the supplies?" She stuttered a little, hesitating at his glare. Arvo had been narrowing his eyes at her everytime he had the chance to. I didn't know why, it confused me. Clementine hadn't done anything to him, she's the one that tries to stop Kenny from hurting him.

"No. This this not place." Arvo shook his head. "Still more walk."

"Goddamnit, I knew this was bullshit." Kenny snapped, "I knew this was gonna happen!" He paced around, keeping his glare on Arvo.

Luke set me down on log and Nick stumbled over towards it, letting out a sigh as he sat, rolling his eyes at me as Kenny rambled on.

"You don't need to treat him like shit for fuckin' up." Nick insisted, looking up at Kenny as he spun his head around to Nick. "He made a mistake, he's sorry for it. He's givin' us shelter and food, you should be thanking him for helping us." I knew very well why Nick was so disagreeing on the situation. He knew what it was like to screw up so badly, he knew what it was like to lose people, too. It was part of this life, all the horrible things that was happening. It was part of the world now.

"Thanking him?" Kenny retorted, "You want me to thank this shitbird for gettin' one of his Ruskie friends to shoot you in the damn leg?" He pointed to Nick's gunshot wound and Nick looked down in pain. "And what about her?" Kenny referred to me. "That's the same damn spot. Twice. If it happens again, that leg is gonna give... We can't fuckin' sit around and let him walk all over us, it's gonna get someone killed this time!"

"What the hell is he gonna do?!" Jane screeched, glaring at Kenny as he rolled his eyes at her. "He's tied up, he's got no weapons, he lost his whole group in one serving, he's _defenseless. _He can't do anything. How is you treating him like shit going to help anyone?!"

Kenny shook his head, rubbing his forehead with his hand. "You're the reason why this asshole got his commie shits to attack us, you're the reason why we have three people injured! Don't fuckin' turn this on me, you _fucked_ up! You shouldn't even be here!"

"That's enough, Kenny!" Luke spat out, narrowing his eyes at Kenny. I looked up at Luke in some sort of shock, he's never broken up an argument so... forcefully, when it came to Kenny. Luke shook his head and glanced down at me. "Y'all need to take it down a notch, you're gonna attract walkers, and then none of this is going to matter." He sounded like he was trying to change the subject in a way, I pouted a little, but stood up.

"We need to stop for the night, here's a good place." I pointed to the power station and the group agreed. "I'm not doing so hot right now, obviously, does anyone wanna scope it out? Make sure there's no walkers awaiting for our company?" I asked, looking around the group in question.

"I'll go." Jane insisted.

"I'll go too, I'll watch your back." Luke agreed, nodding his head.

Before he began to walk, I pulled on his arm. I wanted to say something about Jane so badly, something wasn't right with her. Between them, anyway. I wanted to make sure she wasn't going to do anything... not life threatening wise.

"B-Be careful, watch yourself." I managed to say, stammering a little as a lump grew in my throat.

Luke smiled, "I will. You rest, okay?" He insisted. I nodded my head, and his smile allowed me to swallow the lump of fear down my throat. "We'll be back in a second." Luke alerted the group before taking off with Jane.

I sighed, sitting back down on the log as Bonnie and Mike made their way over to Kenny, Sarah and Clementine scooting away from Nick and I to talk about whatever they wanted to. I was glad that Sarah was finally catching on in this world, it's not easy to teach her things when her father sheltered her for two years.

"That didn't seem like you, there." Nick pointed out, snapping me out of my thoughts, I narrowed my eyes at the ground.

"I don't trust her," I spat out. "I never have." I shrugged my shoulders and sighed again, "Something's telling me that she didn't come back mainly for Clem. And it's eating me up inside that she can be so manipulative, that he could buy it. I mean, Clem didn't buy it, and she's eleven."

"I wouldn't blame her." Nick smirked, referring to Clementine. "She gives me a creepy vibe, and not that 'hot, mysterious girl' creepy vibe." He shuddered.

I looked up at Nick with a raised eyebrow. "A 'hot, mysterious girl' is a type of creepy vibe? Wouldn't have known guys labeled girls like that."

"Well, yeah. Every girl's got a vibe." He chuckled, to which I grew even more curious.

"Oh yeah?" I questioned, "So, what's my vibe?"

Nick shrugged, pouting his bottom lip. "You fucked my best friend, I'm pretty sure he'd know." He chuckled again, leaning backwards as he did. I couldn't help but smile, placing my hand over my mouth to stop myself from laughing. I stopped giggling and Nick stopped laughing, he paused for a moment before continuing. "Luke'll be fine. He won't let someone get in between you and him."

"I hope you're right." I looked down at the ground, digging my heels into the snow in an attempt to take my mind off the thought of Jane.

* * *

I was tired. Abnormally tired. Maybe it was from the walking, maybe it's from the gunshot, but my eyelids were growing heavier. I was leaning against Luke's shoulder until he wrapped his arm around me. Jane was away from us all, taking watch by one of the fences. It confused me, I would have thought that she was would like to keep warm, but she didn't. So much for being a survivalist.

"You know, ever since this damn thing started, we never talk about our lives before it." Mike stated, snapping me out of my tired state. "Why don't we give it a shot? Take turns and tell each other 'bout who we are?"

Everyone else but Kenny and I agreed, but we kept quiet and I guess we silently agreed. Bonnie popped open a bottle of rum that she obtained from Howe's and passed it around.

Luke went first, talking about how his birthday was coming up soon, he was still in college when the apocalypse hit, how he met Nick, which then trailed onto Nick's personal life.

Hesitantly talking about his family, trying his hardest not to shed a tear, even though we could see him choking up. I felt bad for him, I felt sorrow. I know that I couldn't have changed anything, but I let Nick know that I was there for him. That everyone was.

Next came to Bonnie, then Mike, Sarah joined in, and Clementine gave her piece. Before the group could ask Kenny, he immediately stood up with the baby, who he had named Alvin Jr, AJ for short, and claimed the first watch.

The group turned to me and I already felt half asleep, but I finally gave in after they begged me.

"I'm not good at this kind of stuff, Bonnie." I doubted.

Bonnie shook her head. "Neither am I, but I gave it a shot. Go on, darlin'." She insisted.

"Hmph, alright..." I sat up a little more and cleared my throat. "I was nineteen when this started, should be turning twenty-two somewhere in February. Growing up, I didn't have a mom. She died giving birth to my sister, Claire. It was just my dad, her and I my whole life. The man that Clem was talking about, he was my aunt's ex-husband. He was like a second father figure to me and my sister. Um, I used to sing in high school, don't do it very often now. I wonder why."

I smirked, "Anyway, it was just me and my sister when the apocalypse hit, my dad was a cop. So, he was at work and we were by ourselves. We came across people, a lot of them. We were in a lot of groups, saw a lot of things we shouldn't have. Especially with a thirteen-year-old girl to look after..."

I paused, feeling like I had to finish somewhere. I looked up at the group and smiled.

"So where's the part where you bang Luke?" Nick bursted out in a fit of laughter, falling onto his back as he did.

I rolled my eyes, looking up at Luke as his cheeks flushed red and he scratched the back of his neck in embarrassment.

"I'm sure it's in there somewhere." Mike chuckled, catching on with the teasing. "You know, in the bad timing that you guys decided to do it." He smirked.

I scratched the back of my head awkwardly, trying to avoid eye contact with anyone, but failing when Sarah caught my eyes, giving me a cheeky smile. "I don't know, I just... lost control, I guess." I stammered, "For ten minutes..." I mumbled, looking over to Luke with a devilish smile.

"Ten minutes? Man, that's longer than I'd last at this point." Mike said in awe, giving a smirk to Luke before taking a sip from the bottle.

"Okay, it wasn't ten minutes." Luke doubted, looking over to me blankly.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Eleven." I laughed, receiving a playful glare from Luke as the rest of the group joined in.

Bonnie hushed us down with a cracked up smile. "Hey, come on. We've got little ones around." She said, referring to Clementine and Sarah. She grabbed the bottle off Mike and gave it to me, hoping that it'll stop me from talking about it any further.

"You guys are gross." Sarah stuck her tongue out in disgust, shuddering.

"I know what you guys are talking about..." Clementine trailed off, looking at Luke and I.

_Let's hope that wasn't true._

"I certainly hope not." Bonnie's eyes widened.

"You're talking about kissing stuff..." Clementine shuddered, earning a confused look from Sarah and a burst of laughter from Nick and I.

Nick nodded his head as he laughed, "Sure, Clem. Sure."

"Well, that's what people do when they're very good 'friends', Clem." Nick teased, waggling his eyebrows at the younger girl.

Clementine raised her eyebrow in confusion. "But Luke and I are good friends too, right Luke?" She asked, turning around to Luke, obliviously.

"Uh, yeah... yeah. He doesn't mean it like that, though..." Luke stammered, trying to avoid the awkwardness.

"Luke's a regular Casanova." Mike smirked, looking at Luke with raised eyebrows.

"Hey, shut up."

"Don't be modest, your moves are workin' on all the ladies." Mike chuckled.

I held the bottle up to my lips and started to drink, hopefully getting it to fall asleep.

Bonnie mumbled, looking down at the ground. "...Worked on me."

I immediately choked on the rum and started to cough, looking up at Bonnie in shock. "Wait, what?" I questioned through a cough. Nick started to laugh at me and I glared at him. Were Luke and Bonnie a thing before I rocked up on the scene?

"Oh shit, I just did it, didn't I?" Bonnie stammered, "I'm sorry, Kirsten. It's the drink talkin'." She shook her head.

I handed Luke the bottle of rum and finally stopped coughing, "Why wasn't I told about this?" I asked, looking around at the group members in confusion. I sighed, rubbing my head in tiredness. "Now I really wanna go to sleep." I awkwardly smiled, looking up at Luke who sat uncomfortably on the ground, I don't think he liked where the conversation was going.

"I think it's time to get some shut eye, anyway." Mike insisted standing up and trailing off to the multiple backpacks of supplies and pulled out a couple of blankets, handing them to the group of us before holding onto one and taking off into one of the corners.

* * *

Bonnie later joined Mike with the baby, Sarah and Clementine shared a blanket by the fire, Nick and Kenny had to share, which made me laugh, since they didn't like each other. Let alone, would they like to share the same sleeping bag. Jane stayed and kept watch where she was, declining the offer to fall asleep. Even though we were protected by the fence around the power station.

I was on the opposite side of the fire of Clementine and Sarah, trying hard to fall asleep, but failing. My body wouldn't let me, and it was annoying. Luke thought I was asleep, so he took the chance to talk to Jane. I knew something was going on, something weird.

"Doesn't look like you've had much thought about what I said last time we spoke." Jane doubted, keeping her eyes away from Luke.

"I told you, I'd never do that."

Jane paused, "Having a relationship with her is just going to slow you down, you already mess up and you're gonna feel like shit when her luck runs out."

"Then I'll make sure it doesn't." Luke sounded like he was growing angrier. Good. I knew she couldn't be trusted, how dare she even speak those words to him. I couldn't let my feelings get in the way of this, I needed to pretend I was asleep. I couldn't let them know I could hear.

"You can't do that, Luke. No one can." Jane sighed, running her fingers through her hair. "I was serious about what I said. You're better off on your own. She can make it on her own, she doesn't need you. She knows that, you know that, I know that. It can just be you. No baby, no incapable teenaged girl, no angry old man." She's talking like the group is a liability? Why the hell is she even here?

"I'm not leavin' my girlfriend behind, Jane. Ain't no way I'd ever do that. I love Kirsten, I won't be selfish, I'm not built to be selfish." I hope he keeps that attitude.

"It's a relationship that's bound to take it's toll, it's gonna crack. Then you're gonna crack. There's no place for relationships in this world, Luke. Think about what you're doing."

"So what about Jaime? Did you leave her behind, your own sister, because there was 'no place' for her in your world?"

"Don't bring her into this, Luke. She was different, she was family."

"Kirsten's my family. And she will always _be_ my family. I ain't leavin' her, and she ain't leavin' me. So you can drop your whole 'word of advice', it's not happening. I don't even know why you thought of it." I love that man so much right now. What he said shattered me into a million pieces, and I smiled.

Jane angrily sighed, "And what if she ends up leaving you? What if she realizes that being with you, being connected to someone so much, is going to break her down when they're gone? What if she realizes that being on her own is the best thing she can do?"

"I'm gonna be honest with you, she was like that at first. She was too scared to, but she didn't let it get in the way. It's not ending like that."

"Well it should be, because sooner or later, you're going to bring each other down."

I opened one of my eyes, looking at my surroundings. Clementine was staring at me in fear while Sarah was sound asleep, looks like she overheard the conversation, too.

"Just go to sleep, Jane." Luke's footsteps grew nearer and nearer. The irony made me feel belittled.

Jane paused, looking off to the side a little bit, she turned back around. Looking forward at the fence. "You now it's the right thing to do."

* * *

_**A/N: UPDATE: I updated the last bit of the chapter to make Jane/Luke seem more in character. **_

_**Yes, I had to switch the plot around sort of since Luke and Jane never did the deed. So I had to find out another way for Kirsten to hate Jane, and well, I just hope I didn't do it out of character. The reason why there's not much describing in the dialogue at the end is because Kirsten needed to pretend she was asleep, so she couldn't see what they were doing. Anyway, hope you enjoyed this chapter, a review is much appreciated!**_

_**-Inf.**_


	38. When The Ice Breaks

_**A/N: IMPORTANT: If you haven't re-read the last bit of the previous chapter, I advise doing so!**_

* * *

I couldn't sleep.

My body wouldn't let me, I just kept thinking of the conversation Luke and Jane had. The more I thought about it, the more I understood what she was trying to say. If we stayed in group, it would fall apart. It was falling apart already... Kenny was losing his mind, AJ is the only thing keeping him from going off that edge. And if, god forbid, that baby doesn't make it, well... Let's just say that Kenny wouldn't be Kenny anymore.I understood what Jane was trying to say, maybe I should talk to her. Get an even better understanding of it all.

I slowly peeled away from Luke's warm body and removed the blanket off me, covering Luke a bit more with it. I brushed off my pants and looked around for Jane. She was sitting cross legged and facing the fence, I slowly tip toed over to her and tapped her on her shoulder.

"Jane?" I whispered. Her head snapped backwards and faced me.

She turned back around and faced the fence again. "You should be asleep. You need it." She said.

"I could say the same for you." I replied, sitting down on the ground next to her and tucking my legs underneath myself. "I wanna talk to you."

Jane paused, looking down at the ground as soon as I said it. "What about?" She asked.

"I was awake... when you and Luke talked. I heard it all." I confessed, watching Jane's eyes widen a little bit before she stood up. I looked up at her reached out for her hand. "You can sit back down, I'm not mad, Jane." I pulled her back down.

Jane sighed, giving in and sitting down again. "I meant what I said, Kirsten. Soon enough, you're going to watch him die right before your eyes. And he's going to do the same." She paused, and I looked up at her with a slight glare upon my eyes. Jane lifted her hands up in surrender, "I'm not telling you this to get riled up, I'm telling you because no one else will. You can't keep a relationship in a world like this, it's different from before. Once you lose each other, you start to fall apart, you start breaking down. You're gonna get yourself killed."

I sighed, looking back at Luke as he slept peacefully. "I can't leave him, I... I love him too much to do that." I said, looking back at Jane. "I understand what you mean, but I'm not going to do that. I can't even _think_ of doing that."

"It's the right thing to do," Jane insisted. "It's a world of survival, now. You can make it on your own, you can survive better than you can with Luke, or Kenny, or Nick or anyone else. You won't be there when they don't make it, you won't have to suffer."

_"Once you lose someone you love, it's hard. Very, very hard. I know, we're going to lose people we love at any given time during this thing, but I don't want to lose you." I whimpered, looking up at Luke through my lashes as he held onto my hands._

_"Kirst, I ain't gonna go, okay? If I can make it two years through this now, I can make it another two, and another two, and another two." He was so determined, so determined that he wouldn't let me go._

"You should get some sleep, Jane. We've got a long walk tomorrow."

* * *

"Are you sure you're good on that leg?" Nick asked me, limping along in front of me as the group made their way to the destination. I snapped my head upwards to look at him as he peered over his shoulder.

I nodded my head, giving him a smirk as I did. "I could say the same for you, you're limping worse than I am." I chuckled, placing a hand on Luke's shoulder as we walked. Extra support wouldn't do any harm, right?

"No shit." Nick smiled, as Sarah looked up at him with a grin for playfully swearing. It was good to see her smile, heartwarming at the most. A fifteen year old girl, living in the apocalypse with anxiety and watching her father be torn to bits right in front of her? You don't think she'd ever smile again. There's not a day gone by that Sarah doesn't tell me about how much she missed Carlos or the happy times she spent with him. I wouldn't blame her, it was part of the healing process.

"How much further?" Kenny forcefully asked Arvo, glaring into the back of the teenagers head.

Arvo didn't budge an eye towards Kenny, instead, he grumbled. "Close. Very close."

Kenny angrily sighed, shaking his head as he looked down in annoyance. "You've been sayin' that everytime I ask." Kenny stated, to which Arvo just motioned Kenny to follow him. Clementine gasped, to which I jolted my head up to see a walker lunging towards Kenny as he continued to walk. "I'm really startin' to think you're full of shit..."

"Kenny, behind you!" Clementine alerted the man, pulling out her pistol from the back of her pants.

Kenny spun around on his heels in shock as he saw the taller creature snarl in his face, scrambling to grab onto him. "What the fuck?!" Kenny screeched, only to be toppled over onto the ground by the walker. "Aaaarrggh!"

I reached for my gun in the back of my pants, onto to be stopped by a gunshot. I looked up to see that Clementine had shot the walker, deeming me to put the gun back in my pants.

"Kenny, are you alright?" Luke asked, pulling the walker off of him by its arm. Kenny nodded in response as he panted.

"That was close..." Mike said, holding a crying AJ in his arms.

"No shit." I remarked, limping over to Kenny as he stood up. "You good? No bites?" I asked, scanning my eyes over his figure.

Kenny shook his head in disbelief. "Fucker came out of nowhere!" He panted, his breaths becoming hollow.

"That was really loud," Bonnie scanned the treeline briefly before looking back to the others. "I hope there ain't more of 'em."

Jane, who never stopped walking, brushed past the group of us. "Yeah, well, let's move. We don't wanna be around to find out." She insisted, motioning the group to follow her.

"Is very close. Come." Arvo said, as he started to limp down the hill.

* * *

We finally made it. Well, sort of... We had to cross an iced river, that looked by no means sturdy. The group exchanged looks to each other when Arvo showed us the half-built cabin across the other side of the river.

"We should go around, the ice isn't safe." I insisted, digging one of my heels into the brim of the ice. No crack formed, but it was still a long shot.

"No, no. Very safe. I walk all the time." Arvo stated, looking back at me with his soft blue eyes. "Trust me."

I looked up at Luke who shrugged back at me. "We should go around the ice." I insisted, folding my arms as I looked around the group.

Bonnie scanned the area quickly, only to find a long path of iced river blocking anyway of land around it. "I don't see anyway that we can. If we go across slow and spread out, we should make it." She said as she turned her head back around to us.

Clementine agreed with a nod of her head, "We shouldn't clump together."

After minutes of debating, we came to a conclusion. We're crossing the ice. It isn't something I agree with, but what choice do I have? There's no way around it, and there's no other way.

Arvo went first, leading the way to the house as he slowly limped across. Kenny went after him, being cautious not to crack it under his weight. Jane went third, being the light woman she is, she didn't have to worry as much as the men. Mike and Bonnie slowly stepped on after her, spreading apart from each other as much as they could while Mike held the baby. Clementine and Sarah went, Sarah taking deep breaths as little squeals fear escaped her mouth. Clementine tried to calm her down, and told her to suck her stomach in so she seemed a little lighter. I went after the two girls, Luke following close behind me.

"Luke, spread out." I ordered, holding my hand out to stop him from stepping any further to give me some space.

Luke stayed there for ten seconds before starting to walk again. And finally, Nick went last.

As the group continued to walk, we heard cracking from behind us. I spun my head around to see a small group of walkers coming our way.

"Shit..." I mumbled, "Guys, keep it together. Let's just keep going to the house." I tried my best to calm the situation down, but everyone started to look behind them again.

"Hey! Stay with us!" Kenny demanded as he saw Arvo speed up as he limped across the ice.

I peered over my shoulder again and saw that the walkers had made their way to the ice already. I heard cracking, then a big splash of water as two walkers fell in. I sighed, relieved that is wasn't Luke or Nick.

As the group spun around and looked at the icey hole, Arvo made a break for it. Going as fast as his legs could take him across the ice.

"Hey!" Kenny called out, narrowing his eyes at the teenager as he ran. "Motherfucker..." He grumbled, before chasing after Arvo.

"Shit, he's gonna kill him!" Mike feared, soon sprinting after the two as Kenny shouted at him. Clementine and Sarah hesitated, scared that the ice would fall under them. Clementine ran, following Kenny and Mike. Soon, Sarah joined in. Bonnie feared the worst for the girls and started to run after them. Leave the four of us on the ice.

"Goddamnit." I grumbled, as I stopped in my tracks, looking over to Jane who shook her head in annoyance.

As Arvo ran, the ice around started to crack, and his leg fell in. Lucky for him, it was the shallow area where he fell.

Kenny made his way up to the boy and lifted him up. "I should let you drown you piece of shit." He threatened, as the two of them walked over to the land that was not far from them.

"Well," Jane continued to walk. "They made it." She said, as we continued to walk.

"Holy shit..." Luke gasped, turning around to a sight he didn't want to see.

I spun my head around and choked up, looking at Nick as he was standing, on the ice, with cracks and chips on it. "Nick, don't move!" I demanded, as I started to slowly walk over towards him.

"Don't you dare come over here, Kirsten." Nick growled, holding his hands up to me to stop him. "I just gotta move away from the cracks, I'll be fine..."

Luke's voice wavered, he started to take deep breaths as he placed his hands over his head. "Nick, you're gonna fall in, just don't... Fuck... fuck, fuck, fuck! What the hell are we gonna do?! Walkers are right behind you!" Luke screeched. He didn't normally act like this, his was always calm under pressure and now he's just... losing it.

"Luke, shut up!" Nick demanded, "Use that damn gun and kill those walkers, I'll just-" Nick tried to take a step, only for the ice to cave in and for his leg to go down into the water with gushing force.

Luke and I started to run towards him as fast as our legs could take us, only to be stopped with pleads from him. "Stop! Stop! Guys stop!" He shouted, as the others did the same.

"Nick, let me help you! I'm light, I-I can pull you out!" I insisted, holding my hand out towards him. I looked over to Luke who's face just screamed out fear. "Luke, shoot those fucking walkers!" I demanded, as Luke scrambled for the AK-47 strapped to his back and started to shoot at the walkers.

"Kirsten, p-please... j-just d-don't come n-near me..." Nick shivered, holding out his hand for me to stop, but I didn't listen.

"I need to help you! Just let me help you!" I pleaded, slowly stepping closer and closer to the cracked ice.

Nick looked up at me in fear as he reluctantly reached his hand out to grab mine. "P-p-lease... I-I'm n-n-not worth it-t..."

His words echoed in my head, I could hear my heartbeat in my ears and tears streaking down my face. Those words broke me, Nick should never feel unworthy. And I won't let him die feeling like that.

I finally grabbed onto Nick's hand, "Nick, don't say that!" I pleaded, slowly pulling him forward. "I won't let you die..."

Those were the last words I managed to say before the ice caved in, pulling Nick and I down with it. The cold water was stiffening my limbs, my skin felt like a cold rock and I was scrambling around to pull myself up from the force. The water made my vision blurry, I couldn't see Nick or the hole in the ice. I finally reached the top and felt the ice over my head. I started to bang on it as hard as I could, but it wasn't budging. I looked around for the hole again, but it wasn't what I saw.

I saw Nick, pulling onto my hand and soon grabbing my hips as he pushed me upwards. Soon, Nick's hands let go. I looked down to see him sinking to the bottom. No, not sinking, being dragged down. _Dragged _by a walker, who was trying to take a bite out of his leg. I tried to swim downwards, not caring about running out of air, and I felt my legs go through the hole that we created in the ice. Nick was too far down, being dragged into the abyss of the cold lake. I gasped, soon releasing the air in my lungs, only to be scrambling for more. A hand grabbed me from under my arms and pulled me out of the ice, laying me down on it's cold hard surface.

I coughed, gasping for air as the wind blew onto my face. It hurt to breath and I could barely move. "G-Get... Nick..." I managed to spit out.

"I thought I fucking lost you!" Luke whimpered, shivering over my cold figure as he tried to grab me. I resisted, trying my best to break out of his grasp. "What the hell are you doing?! We have to get you inside!"

I pushed Luke away from me and looked at the hole in the ice. I hoped, I hoped and waited, expecting to see Nick come bursting out of the water, but he didn't. Instead, I saw red in the water.

_Nick._

I reached my hand into the water and pulled out the red object, only to be disappointed. It wasn't Nick. It was his hat.

Luke looked down at the hat in my hands and grabbed it from me, his eyes starting to tear up at the sight. "You're gonna freeze to death, let me take you inside!" Luke pleaded, grabbing onto me and standing up. He started to run with me in his hands.

I looked over his shoulder and saw the hole of ice, and I started to tremble. My eyes became teary and I let it all out. I started to painfully cry into Luke's jumper, sobbing at the thought of Nick being gone. I looked up at Luke as he made it to the snow-covered land, and I realized, that I wasn't the only one crying.

* * *

_**A/N: -sadly sighs- Goodbye, Nick. I won't forget the fun it was to write you being a smartass to Kirsten about having sex with Luke. Good times.**_

_**That was a painful chapter to write, I had to stop for 10 minutes to regain my composure. Ugh. But, that's apart of The Walking Dead. You're gonna lose some good people. **_

_**Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it. Because I didn't. .-. Kidding, in all seriousness, I hope it broke your heart. Hopefully, you could leave a review on how you felt? Thanks for reading! -Inf.**_


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